I Can Only Hold On For So Long
by PresumablyAury
Summary: *KH3 SPOILERS* A canon-divergent AU taking place immediately after KH3 that asks the question "What if Sora didn't disappear but wasted away slowly instead?" The Destiny Trio are sent out into the worlds to defend the light. They're happy to finally be traveling together, but can their friendship weather the darkness or will they be separated? TW:Mental Illness, Injuries, Language
1. Any Time, Any Place

A/N: Hello and welcome! Just a heads up- please be prepared for lots of mental health issues, depressive episodes, PTSD stuff, and panic attacks. Also be aware that while I'm going to keep this squarely in T, these are three teenagers alone in a spaceship, sexual things are gonna happen. There is also some mention of blood and broken bones, though nothing too graphic. Feel free to skip out if any of that sounds upsetting to you.

Fic title comes from a Dearly Beloved remix by SneakOrz on Youtube.

Special thanks to loveanfriendship for being an upstanding editor and good internet friend.

Also a shoutout to Edmondia_Dantes and rayemars for their Beyond the Ocean Beach universe on Ao3. I got a lot of inspiration from there.

Thanks and enjoy!

* * *

They'd been home a month when King Mickey video called them. It was a little too late at night, but the three of them were huddled together by the paopu tree anyway, like old times, so they were all there when the call came through Sora's phone. Hastily, he pulled it out and punched the call through as Riku looked over his shoulder. Kairi leaned to see who it was, then glanced at Riku while Sora stumbled through a greeting. The barest hint of a smile hung at the corners of Riku's mouth, but his eyes were set and steady and she knew he had expected this.

But then the king was talking and she needed to respond and after a moment or two more it was settled - they would be heading for Master Yen Sid's tower in the morning. Long after the call had ended they had stayed by the tree despite the cold spring breeze wafting in off the ocean, talking about what it all meant. Already chafing at rules and school and stillness, Sora was eager to go. Riku was quiet and calm and Kairi became more certain by the minute that he'd known before the rest of them. He did regularly text King Mickey after all.

She was nervous, the feeling bubbling up from her stomach until she could taste the acid on the back of her tongue, but she didn't want them to leave her behind. So she smiled and teased Sora and rubbed the palm of her right hand whenever her fear made it start to prickle like it did when she summoned Destiny's Embrace. At one point she was worried Riku had noticed, but then the conversation moved on and she realized that it had been long enough that even he didn't know when she was scared anymore.

They rowed out separately for home when they realized it was after midnight and they still had to talk to their parents.

—

The next morning they met in front of Sora's house, dressed in the special clothing the good fairies had made them. They wouldn't make portals near the secret place, for fear of weakening the lock still holding there. Riku was the only one who could do it anyway, and he wordlessly opened a portal and ushered them through, closing it behind them. Sora didn't mention that his mom had forbidden him from leaving until after they were through, walking up the seemingly never-ending stairs of the Mysterious Tower. He said it like a joke, but Kairi took his right hand in her left and Riku made a point of changing the topic until they got to the room at the very top.

Immediately, Sora was bowled over by Donald and Goofy, the two of them burying him in a hug. Riku and Mickey shared a greeting that, while more restrained, was equally affectionate. Kairi watched and smiled but couldn't help feeling a little left out. Master Yen Sid didn't give them much time for hellos. He cleared his throat and the heroes of light immediately snapped to attention. King Mickey walked over to the desk, and standing beside it told them why he'd brought them here.

"I'm sorry to be callin' you here so soon, but we've gotten word of a world that's in a whole heap of trouble. We'd like you three to go check it out, and see if you can help 'em."

"You want us to go together?!" Sora asked, eyes lighting up. Standing on either side of him, Kairi and Riku couldn't help smiling as Riku slid into a more relaxed stance and Kairi tucked her arms behind her back contentedly. Master Yen Sid and King Mickey nodded.

"Uh huh!" the King chimed, beaming. "We know how much you've been wantin' to stay together, and we think it's about time you got to learn from each other!"

Yen Sid continued, "Just because Xehanort is gone from the worlds, doesn't mean darkness is. Keyblade wielders have always defended the realms of light, just as you shall continue to do. Master Riku," he paused.

"Yes, sir?" Riku straightened.

"These two are now your students as well as your friends. Teach them well, and may your heart be your guiding key."

Riku nodded, then bowed. "Yes, Master Yen Sid." Kairi and Sora bowed as well.

King Mickey continued, "You'll be given a gummi ship of your own, and you all still have your gummi phones, right?" The three teens nodded. "Great! Make sure you keep in touch."

"We will!" Sora promised, throwing his arms around both his friends' shoulders. Kairi laughed while Riku protested with a quiet "Hey!" even though he didn't resist at all.

"Welp," Mickey continued, "You know what to do now. Look after each other, and we'll see you soon!"

"Awwww," Donald lamented, hanging his head. The sound cut through the teens excited chatter, and Sora instantly broke away to approach his old friends.

"We're really gonna miss ya, Sora," Goofy said, smiling despite the tears in his eyes. Something about the expression made Sora wrap them both in a hug tight enough to make someone's back crack.

"I'm gonna miss you guys too," he said softly, pulling back. Then, trying to cheer them up, "But we can call each other whenever, and you've got lots of important stuff to do at home with the king!" Grinning, he leaned towards Donald, elbowing him. "Not to mention Daisy…" he added with a smirk. Donald simply huffed and crossed his arms.

"You're ridiculous," he squawked.

Goofy chuckled. "Well you sure do talk about her a lot for someone who doesn't miss her," he teased. Donald let out an excessively enraged squawk, and the whole room laughed.

Crouching so that he was level with Donald's eye-line, Sora put a hand on his shoulder and sang out quietly, "Even though we're hittin' the road/ our worlds are all connected." Donald hmphed as Goofy joined in, "So don't be sad/ and always know/ we'll come back soon to say hello!"

That did it, and Donald tackled Sora in a hug, knocking him over backwards. Sora laughed as Goofy joined them in their hug on the floor.

"See you guys soon," he promised.

—

Half an hour later, Sora, Riku, and Kairi stepped into the cabin of their new gummi ship. It was almost identical to the one Sora had traveled in with Donald and Goofy, with three high backed seats arranged in a triangle, one control panel in the front, and closets hidden behind flat panels along the back wall. A hatch in the floor in the back led to the (admittedly cramped) shower and bathroom below it. Sora immediately headed to the pilot's chair. So did Riku. They exchanged a look, eyebrows raised.

"Have you ever even driven a gummi ship before?" Sora asked, crossing his arms.

"The King taught me how," Riku replied evenly, expression stoic aside from a grin that showed just a hint of too many teeth. Kairi watched the two of them for a moment before she couldn't hold back her laughter anymore.

"What's so funny?" Sora asked as he and Riku turned towards her.

Hiding her last giggle behind her hand, she answered, "You two haven't changed a bit." _I was worried nothing would be the same_, she thought.

The boys watched her carefully, but finally Riku gave her that sideways smile that crinkled his eyes and Sora threw his hands behind his head and rocked his weight onto his heels, grinning.

"Go ahead and pilot first if you want to, Sora," Riku said breezily, waving them both off and going to sit in the chair on the right. "We'll all have to take turns at some point." Sora's grin cranked up a notch and he dashed to the captain's chair. While he booted the ship up and readied it for flight, Kairi settled in the chair to his left, smoothing out her skirt. Her heart was beating fast and she could taste stomach acid again, but there was a rush to it this time that made her smile. It was finally happening - they were going to go see other worlds, together, like they'd always planned.

It still took her by surprise when they took off. She'd only ever traveled by portal before.

—

Several hours later, they arrived. Chip and Dale had plugged the coordinates for the world in before they had left, and Sora had confirmed that it was nowhere he had been. They landed in a wilderness outside of the city King Mickey had told them about. Inside the gummi ship, Kairi stood facing the two boys, hands on her hips.

"I've only done this spell on myself before, so I need you two to be quiet so I can concentrate. And don't laugh at me if it doesn't work at first," she instructed, frowning at them.

"Don't worry," Sora encouraged her, giving her a thumbs-up, "You've got this!" Riku nodded that short, sure nod of his. Kairi looked between the two of them, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. They watched her lips move as she murmured the spell under her breath. There was a flash of light, a loud popping sound, and then the cabin filled with the smell of spent magic.

As the light faded, Riku realized that he was a different height. Almost immediately, he felt his ears swivel on his head, taking in the (much louder) sounds of the ship and of his friends. In front of him, stood a tall lioness with a reddish tint to her fur, wearing Kairi's clothes.

"It worked!" she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Good job," Riku replied, swishing his new tail experimentally.

"What's going on?" they heard Sora's voice from somewhere below them. "Why am I so short?" Turning to look at him, Kairi had to hide her smile behind her paws.

"Oh Sora, you're…" she trailed off, unable to completely keep the laughter out of her voice. Riku was smirking as well, taking in the dark brown rabbit standing next to him. Sora, exasperated, leaned forward.

"I'm what?" he asked, and reflexively his left foot tapped out a loud staccato rhythm to match his annoyance. Surprised, he looked down at himself.

"You're a rabbit," Riku replied unnecessarily, enjoying the shock on Sora's face way more than he probably should.

"I'm… a rabbit?" he repeated, surprised. As he studied his hands and magically shrunken clothes, Riku took a moment to take in his own appearance.

"You made me a wolf?" he asked Kairi.

She shook her head. "The spell makes us fit the world. I don't get to decide what we turn in to."

"So you can't change it?" Sora asked, actually jumping to get his sight line level with hers.

Stifling another giggle, Kairi said, "No, sorry. You're stuck like that until we leave here."

Sora frowned for a moment, then shook his head. "That's ok," he said, smiling up at her. "There's gotta be a reason, right? You did a great job on your first try."

"Thanks Sora, Riku."

"Well, we'd better get going," Riku said, starting for the door. As he passed by Sora, he scooped him up- "Hey!"- and set him on his shoulders. He felt Sora's paws hold on to the fur between his ears, and reached up to hold on to Sora's ankles to give him extra stability. "Wow Sora, your feet would finally fit your shoes," he observed dryly, "too bad they don't wear any in this world." He received a sharp kick in the sternum for this observation, but all it did was make him laugh. Kairi shook her head at them, following the pair out the door and on their first steps into this world.

They had landed in a field surrounded by a small copse of trees on one side. A creek bordered by rushes and tall wild grass curved around the other, and beyond it were fields of corn and other crops the teens couldn't as easily identify. A fallen log bridged the creek, and after carefully picking their way across it (and nearly falling in several times as Riku and Kairi got used to their new heights and feet) they walked the narrow paths in-between fields towards a two-lane country road.

"Where should we go now?" Sora asked, still perched on Riku's shoulders. Looking around, Kairi spotted a sign a ways down the road. It directed them to a train station. After combing through some of the maps that were available, Riku bought them three tickets to Zootopia, recognizing it as the city King Mickey had told them about. As they moved about the station, he noticed people shying out of his and Kairi's way - when they weren't just openly staring. Everyone here, with few exceptions, was a rabbit. The only person who didn't seem to notice the tension was Sora (now walking on his own two feet). He smiled and greeted people who talked to him, and occasionally got asked if he was so-in-so's cousin or nephew. He explained that he was from out of town, and traveling with his two best friends. The rabbits speaking to him would then nervously greet Riku and Kairi, and quickly flee the conversation. However, one chatty doe, with her husband and assortment of children in tow, instead asked where they were from.

"Kiji," Riku replied easily, having found the name on the maps they were looking at earlier.

Sora looked at him, surprised, but then grinned and repeated, "Yeah, Kiji."

"I didn't know any bunnies lived there!" the bunny replied. "Is it nice?" She continued to talk to all of them, mostly through Sora, until the train arrived.

The train had three entrances, each a different size for the wide variety of creatures that could board. Kairi and Riku headed for the biggest one, with Sora trotting along at their heels, despite being small enough that he practically had to jump up the stairs. Inside, the train was as comfortable as public transportation could be, with bench seats and large glass windows. The journey was relaxed, though Riku and Kairi both noticed how empty their train car was. The few animals inside kept giving the trio startled looks when they noticed Sora nestled between his significantly larger friends.

Riku shot a text to King Mickey telling him they were here, while Kairi and Sora watched the fields whip by outside. Once the train crossed the Zootopia Sound, all three teens were glued to the window, watching as they were led through an arid desert, an arctic township, a lush rainforest, and then a vibrant city. The huge climate shifts mixed with modern amenities and towering skyscrapers left all three of them in awe. Soon Sora and Kairi were pointing things out to each other and Riku, everything from the palm-tree shaped skyscraper - "Talk about a treehouse!" Sora enthused - to a brilliant flower in someone's window box studded with rain. For his part, Riku simply observed and smiled. He had to admit, this place was impressive. He would let the size and scope of keeping this city safe from heartless worry him later.

They got off at Savanna Central Station - the end of the line for the train they were on. Unlike Bunny Burrow, this place was filled with animals of all different stripes - figuratively and literally. Despite all of their traveling, only Sora had been to a city this large, and Kairi was a little overwhelmed. There was so much to see, and do, and hear, and smell, not to mention try really really hard not to step on. She tried to walk alongside her friends while staying out of people's way, and was surprised when they stepped aside for her instead. A couple of times she ended up awkwardly stopping at the same time as the person walking towards her, both waiting for the other to pass by.

Sora, Riku noticed, was having the opposite problem. While other animals easily got out of his and Kairi's way, they seemed to almost ignore Sora, and he kept getting cut off from his taller friends. One giraffe completely bumped into him, nearly kneeing him in the face, then kept walking, ignoring his indigent protests. After the second time this happened, Riku picked him up again, setting him on his shoulders. He felt his friend twist around, looking at their surroundings, and gripped his ankles a little more firmly.

"Hmmmmm… I don't see any Heartless," Sora observed.

"Me neither," Kairi replied, tail twitching uneasily.

"That doesn't mean they're not here. Keep your guard up," Riku instructed. Sora and Kairi both nodded firmly. Sora summoned his keyblade and Riku winced at the intensity of the sound right next to his ear. Seeing Riku's ears pin back, but not understanding why, Sora leaned over so he could see at least some of Riku's face.

"You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine. That was just loud."

"Yeah, everything's louder here."

Riku shook his head. "Not louder - our hearing's better."

"Oh, right," Sora said, and Kairi couldn't help chuckling as he felt his own long ears with his free hand. "C'mon, Kairi! You've gotta admit it's a little weird."

"It is," she agreed, wiggling her ears at him. This earned her a chuckle not just from Sora, but from Riku too, a rare enough event that she and Sora both perked up a little.

Not far outside Savanna Central, the group saw a large crowd gathered. Most of them were waving signs declaring things like "Pred Pride!" and "Zootopia is 4 Everyone!" A few uniformed officers were standing by, just in case. Most of the animals moving around them scurried quickly on, but a few animals sneered at the protesters, and one badger shouted something that caused a lion and zebra holding hands to shout back.

Flattening her ears against her head, Kairi frowned. "This doesn't look good." As she said it, Sora hopped down from Riku's shoulders as Riku automatically hunched to make it easier on him. Once Sora was clear, Riku summoned his keyblade as well. Kairi followed suit, all three teens surveying the scene warily.

"Excuse me, but you can't have those weapons here," one of the officers called out, approaching them swiftly, hand on a something at her hip. Sora and Kairi glanced at each other, then at Riku. The young wolf watched as the officer strode confidently up to him, stopping just out of reach of his sword. "They're not allowed at this protest, and you'd better have a permit for carrying them at all," she continued.

"A permit?" Sora asked, tilting his head. "For these?" he held his Keyblade out. The officer stepped back quickly, and he lowered his blade just as fast.

"Yes, those," she replied, looking him up and down. "You need special licensing to carry any kind of weapon in Zootopia."

"Our apologies, ma'm," Riku cut in, sending his keyblade away. Kairi and Sora did the same. "We're from Kiji and the laws there are different," he went on to explain. The officer hardly seemed to be listening - she was staring at their hands. Then she brought her violet eyes up to study each one of their faces, nose twitching.

"I think the three of you need to come with me."

—-

Riku, Kairi, and Sora followed the officer to her car, which was parked along one of the streets closed for the protest. She kept glancing back at them as they walked, but her wary look was not like the ones other animals had been giving the trio all day. She knew something was up, and now the three teens had to figure out what they were going to tell her.

With a nonchalant hop, the officer pulled open the back seat doors, and the teens filed in. She shut the door behind them, and after a moment opened the driver's side door and hopped into her seat. The back of the car seat seemed to dwarf the grey rabbit as she peered around it at them.

"My name is Officer Hopps and you are not under arrest. You are free to go at any time. However, should you say or do anything that is a threat to myself, this car, or any thing or person in this city I reserve the right to place you under arrest. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Officer," Kairi replied for them all, tone serious. Officer Hopps nodded.

"Your Zooling seems to be very good, but if needed I can provide a translator for you. We have several officers fluent in Kijinese."

"That won't be necessary," Riku replied quickly. She nodded and pressed on.

"What brings you to Zootopia?"

"We're… exterminators," Sora supplied, sounding not at all certain as he scratched the back of his neck. Riku raised an eyebrow and shot him a look out of the corner of his eyes. Sora gave him a small shrug before turning back to Officer Hopps.

Kairi watched Officer Hopps watch the boys, and cut in before she could say the question forming in her eyes. "We were sent here looking for a specific kind of monster, and those weapons you saw earlier are our tools for getting rid of them."

"Monster?" Officer Hopps blurted, but then changed tack as she leaned back and crossed her arms. "So this is your job then? What company do you work for?"

"Oh it's not a company-"  
"Heartless Inc-"  
"Monster really isn't the best-" Kairi, Sora, and Riku all said at the same time. Realizing they were all talking over each other, they stopped at about the same time too, shooting each other frustrated looks. Kairi dropped her gaze first. Sora and Riku stared each other down for a bit before Sora stood up on the seat so that he could lean over and whisper in Riku's ear.

"So what's the plan?" he asked. Riku gave him an incredulous look, waiting until Sora got the hint and leaned over so Riku could whisper in his ears.

"World order, obviously. Now sit down and stop acting so suspicious."

With a disgruntled noise, Sora sat back down. Kairi tilted her head at them, but only got a nod from Riku. Officer Hopps continued watching the three of them with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

Riku spoke first, saying, "It's a lot to explain. Have there been any strange dark creatures around here recently?"

The officer's eyes narrowed. "Those are what you're after?" she asked, incredulously.

"So they are here," Riku countered. Kairi practically felt the air in the car go colder as Riku and Officer Hopps locked eyes, sizing each other up.

A few tense moments later, she said, "We've kept those reports quiet."

"Our information comes from someone outside the city."

"How far outside?"

Riku shook his head, "We're not allowed to say. What we need to know is… what's all this?" He gestured to the protesters outside the car.

"Your source must be far outside," she responded cooly, ears back and eyebrows raised, "if you know about the creatures but not about the predators going savage."

"Savage?" Kairi and Sora asked simultaneously.

"Yes," Officer Hopps confirmed gravely, "Savage. Predators across the city are randomly reverting back to an un-evolved state, where hunting prey is second nature. There are 26 cases so far, with no known cause," she looked down, "or cure."

"So what is the protest for?" Sora asked.

She looked back up at him. "People are scared. They want drastic measures to make themselves feel better. Crazy things, like predator 'quarantines'," she put air quotes around the word, "or mandatory predator registration, collars, all sort of things. Insane, illegal things." Her shoulders slumped for a moment, and then she was all business again. "I could use your help - with the monsters I mean, not the protesters. Although-" she looked between the three of them once more, "you might be useful in that regard too."

"Sure," Sora agreed instantly, "How can we help?" Riku and Kairi both looked down at him, Riku with an almost fond exasperation and Kairi in surprise. Officer Hopps didn't give them much time to think.

"First off, I'm going to send you to police plaza so we can get your proper documentation and hire you three on as consultants. Then, I'll give you all the information we have about the creatures. I don't have access to most of it - I'm on a lot of civil cases at the moment. But I can introduce you to the officers that are.

"Also, there's a party tonight, after the protest. I'm going to be there officially, just in case, but I think a group of friends like the three of you would be more than welcome. Plus, you'd get a better feel for what these animals are facing."

"Like us?" Sora asked. He looked up at his friends. Kairi smiled down at him, then across at Riku, who gave her a small smile in return. Watching them both, Sora grinned and nodded. "Right." He turned back to the other rabbit, saying, "We'd be happy to help, Officer Hopps!"


	2. Elephants on Parade

Summary: Zootopia part 2

Our teens battle paperwork, heartless, and poor communication skills

* * *

Officer Hopps let her team know she'd be gone for a moment, then radioed ahead letting an Officer Clawhauser know she was on the way. She drove them to Police Plaza and walked them inside.

"Hey Officer Hopps! Always a pleasure to see your c-" The cheetah caught himself and plowed on, "capable, adorable, capadorable face! What'd you need?"

She gave a shake of her head, but she was smiling. "I've got three 'capadorable' exterminators that I'd like to get weapons registration for. Class E, blades. I'd also like to get them hired as consultants on our shadow creatures cases. They know what they are and are here to take care of them. They're from Kiji so you might need a few extra forms. You three have your passports, right?" She turned to look at them.

Sora was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Riku was looking up and to the left (clearly thinking). Kairi beat them both to a response, tucking her arms behind her back as she did so.

"We lost ours," she said, "during the trip. But we'd be happy to fill out whatever forms you need."

Sora nodded, embellishing, "Yeah, the heartless took them."

"Heartless?" Officer Hopps asked.

"That's what we call them," Sora explained.

Riku added, "That's what they are."

"Well, at least now we have a name," she replied, giving Clawhauser a sideways glance. He shrugged at her, then began digging for paperwork.

—

Several hours and a large order of take-out later, they were almost done with the paperwork. There was a lot of it, but they also continuously got interrupted as Clawhauser got distracted or as people came in to the precinct. They had heard every Gazelle song in existence (whether Riku liked it or not) and learned a fair bit about Zootopia in the process.

Kairi just hoped all their paperwork would check out, considering they weren't actually citizens of the country they were pretending to be from and had completely made up their identification numbers. Some more cleverly than others - Sora just did variations on the number 13 because "that was Roxas's number, so it's my number too" and Kairi included a few 8s, in honor of Lea.

Riku had nudged Sora, who was sitting cross-legged on top of the table they were at, and said in a quiet voice, "Do a 14 for Xion too."

"Oh, right!"

Kairi had looked up at the way Riku said it, and while he couldn't hide his eyes behind bangs in this world, his face was unreadable as ever as he bent over their forms. Eventually she went back to working on her own.

A little bit later, Riku was glancing over their identification forms and consulting contracts while Sora and Kairi finished their weapons registration paperwork. As they worked, another call came through dispatch. Clawhauser answered it, and out of the corner of her eye Kairi saw his tail go rigid, and slowly start to fluff out. She felt her own fur stiffen in response. The rotund cheetah turned to them.

"You might want to hurry up and finish those forms. Those weird shadow creatures are at the party."

They did hurry up and finish the forms, just in time too, as the officers Clawhauser contacted to provide back-up were just heading out the front doors.

"Wait," Clawhauser called to them, "Take these three with you. They're consultants for the ZPD - they know about the creatures." The wolf and rhino sized the three animals up, looked at Clawhauser, then at each other.

"C'mon," the rhino said brusquely. Riku, Sora, and Kairi didn't need to be told twice.

The ride to the club where the party was being held was quiet and fast, aside from occasional radio chatter. They passed the last stragglers of the protest, and then a few blocks later, people running in the opposite direction. The club was a brick building decorated with neon in the windows and a mural sweeping up the front around the door. Several cop cars were already there, and the teens saw Officer Hopps escorting a group of animals from the scene. They also saw heartless in the street - some Neoshadows and two Satyrs. Shadows crawled out the door and some of the windows, while a platoon of Aerial Knockers was striking at the glass. There were also some kangaroo-like emblem heartless that they had never seen before. (Sora later dubbed them "Heartless Hoppers" which got shortened to "Hoppers" almost immediately.) They were swarming around a single massive heartless moving down the street towards the club. It resembled an elephant in principle, with large ears and golden tusks, but it had only one glowing eye in the center of its face. It walked on two thick legs, with four arms and two pairs of wings sprouting from its torso. Though it was approaching them quickly, its limbs looked slow, as if it was moving underwater.

The car barely had a chance to park before Sora and Riku were tumbling out of it, Kairi at their heels. ZPD officers were everywhere, swinging at heartless with whatever was at hand. A few had been issued police batons which were proving marginally more effective. For the most part, though, the heartless ignored them.

The three teens ran up, keyblades drawn, and there was a noticeable shift in the dark creatures. Most of them immediately turned to hone in on the heroes of light, though a few remained fixated on the building. From the street, Riku pulled in a few of the more stubborn Aerial Knockers in with a magnera spell, finishing them off with a burst of lightning. Sora darted in, going for the Shadows still plaguing the building, but he was quickly forced to skid to a halt. A pair of Shadows stood in front of him, easily as tall as he was. One swiped its claws dangerously close to his face, forcing him back a step, but with two quick hits from the Kingdom Key it was done for. He cut through the other Shadow with equal ease, then sprinted onward.

Meanwhile, Kairi was standing on the edge of the battle. Having cleared a space around herself, she was sizing up the remaining heartless in the sky. Pointing Destiny's Embrace upwards, she called out a spell that sent pillars of light piercing through the remaining Aerial Knockers. Instantly, they disintegrated. Nodding to herself in a satisfied way, she held her keyblade in front of her, parallel with her body, and began to whisper another spell. The end of her keyblade glowed white, and she began to run, slashing the tip of her keyblade down so that it dragged along the ground as she ran. A glowing white trail stayed where she had drawn it.

"Bring them in towards the center!" She called out. Riku made eye-contact with her and nodded, but she had a hard time finding Sora. His umber fur blended into the pavement in the dark, despite the streetlights and cop cars. Adding to the difficulty, he was bounding all over the place, moving through the heartless almost wildly. She only spotted him at all by following his voice as he called out, "You got it!" Still, he was pushing his way towards the giant elephantine heartless rather than herding in stragglers.

As Riku batted Neoshadows towards the street and dodged a running Satyr, he saw Sora dash around him. Though he was half of his normal height, Sora didn't seem to notice, going toe to toe with the Satyr Riku had just dodged. He brought his keyblade up just in time to catch the full impact of the Satyr's charge as it shoved him backwards several yards. Teeth bared, Sora forced the creature back. Continuing his momentum, he hacked forward with the Kingdom Key, leaving the Satyr no room to start running again. He finished it off with a blizzara spell.

Beating back another heartless trying to cross over Kairi's line, Riku took stock - Kairi was almost back to where her circle started, and the remaining heartless were squarely inside it, gathering loosely around the Cyclops in the center of the street. He turned and began carving his way towards the giant heartless, combining big swings of Braveheart with bursts of thunder and ice spells. Sora was also cutting his way through the melee, so Riku angled his path towards his friend.

Ears pulled back against his head, Sora ducked under a Hopper's swing. He'd been cut off by a group of them, all punching and kicking. Sora leapt high and smashed the Kingdom Key straight into one Hopper's face as Riku reached his side. Another punch, however, caught him in the ribs, sending him tumbling. He managed to get his feet under him before he landed, sliding sideways. Riku cut in between him and the Hoppers, forcing them backwards. He glanced back at Sora, who was glaring through the surrounding heartless at the giant one.

Dropping to one knee, Riku called, "Sora!" That was all he had to say. With a grin, Sora raced over, running up Riku's back and jumping off of his shoulders, bringing his keyblade down on one of Hopper's heads. It vanished, but before Sora even landed, he spun himself around, cutting deep into the final Hopper's side. Riku was right behind him, finishing it with two swift swipes.

As they finished the Hoppers off, Kairi reached where she had started, completing the circle. The line flared brightly, then shot upwards as a clear dome encircled the heartless in the middle of the street. Outside of the glowing protective barrier, ZPD officers and by-standers safely watched the swarm of heartless and the three animals fighting them. Kairi noticed in particular that Officer Hopps had her hands on it, testing if she could get in and help. She couldn't, unfortunately, but it wasn't lost on Kairi that she was trying. She remembered all too well how it felt to be on the other side of that fence.

But the heartless didn't leave much time for reminiscing. A Satyr charged straight at her, barely giving Kairi time to put up her keyblade and block. She hissed a fire spell through her teeth, and the ensuing blast shot the heartless back a few paces. Kairi pressed her advantage, finishing it off with a brutal stab in the stomach.

Meanwhile, Sora was still clambering around the field, fighting his way towards the Cyclops heartless in the center. Neoshadows and Hoppers kept blocking his path, and he was getting more and more reckless as he tried to break through them. Again and again, he just barely missed getting hit, sometimes blocking their swings, but mostly just rolling or twisting out of the way at the last second. Riku kept pace, covering his back as the reckless rabbit darted through the fray. Then Sora reached the Cyclops. It towered over him, more than four times his size, its tusks thicker than Sora's entire body. He didn't even hesitate. With a cry, he jumped, keyblade a swishing blur as he brought it down over and over again on the shoulders and chest of the elephantine heartless. It swung one tree-trunk sized arm, then the other at the rabbit practically defying gravity in front of it. Sora twisted out of the way, only to be swatted by a wing and sent sprawling, flying past Riku, who reached out for him anyway.

From across the field, Kairi heard Sora bellow and followed the sound to find him. She looked up just in time to see him get swatted past Riku by the Cyclops's wing. She ran, knocking a Neoshadow out of her way, but she reached Sora just a beat too late. Her arms closed on air as he bounced off of her, and the force bowled her over. They both landed hard, rolling, and were instantly beset by Neoshadows and one of the last two Hoppers. Riku rushed over, swatting away a Neoshadow seconds before it latched onto Kairi. He'd no sooner done that than Sora was back on his feet, offering her a paw up.

"You ok, Kairi?" he asked. Nodding, she reached up, taking his paw. His hand was barely bigger than her thumb here, she noticed, but he still put forth the effort to help her stand up. She barely reached her feet before she had to block a Hopper's punch. Sora finished it off, while Riku got a Neoshadow at their back.

"I'm ok," she confirmed. "Are you?"

"Of course!" He flashed an almost cheeky grin at her before darting off so quickly it was like he'd disappeared. Kairi shot a glance at Riku, whose eyebrows were furrowed as he watched Sora take off. Feeling her gaze, he looked back at Kairi.

"We should follow him," she said, frowning. Riku nodded, and they both took off after the heedless rabbit.

As they ran, the elephant heartless in the center raised its wings, folding one pair of arms above its head and the other in front of its chest. Plunging its trunk into the ground, it formed a pool of darkness around its feet. Neoshadows came staggering out of it, replacing the numbers it had lost to the three keyblade wielders.

Riku and Kairi skidded to a stop at the edge of the pool, mobbed by Neoshadows. Reflexively, they moved to fight back to back. "Know any fire spells?" Kairi called out over the fight.

Riku scoffed, but he was grinning. "I know a few. What did you have in mind?"

"Shoot a firaga spell upwards!"

He nodded, then pointed Braveheart towards the sky. Kairi did the same with Destiny's Embrace. Together they shouted, and two large fireballs hurled upwards from the tips of their keyblades, merging at the top of the barrier. Immediately, Kairi, leapt up, striking the fireball and causing it to splinter into a rain of fiery projectiles. These cleared out swaths of the smaller heartless and thundered down on the Cyclops's head. As Kairi landed, they heard Sora cheer, and spotted him on the opposite side of the dark pool.

Eyes steely, Riku dove forward, blasting heartless with spells and banishing them with practiced thrusts of his keyblade. Kairi covered his back, the inky darkness disintegrating under her feet, then filling back in behind her. Sora charged towards them from the other side.

As they met in the middle, all three teens brought their full power against the Cyclops. Its eight limbs kept them busy, protecting the trunk which was still pumping darkness into the ground. It was hard to get many hits in as they ducked, wove, and jumped around its flailing arms and wings, constantly fending off attacks from the Neoshadows being summoned around them. After a few fruitless moments, Sora got an idea.

"Kairi, throw me!" he called, running up to her. She gave him a startled look, then sized up the heartless and nodded. Grabbing his left hand and his right wrist, she spun, lifting Sora off the ground and letting go to hurl him at the Cyclops. Unfortunately, she wasn't quite used to how much power her lion limbs gave her, and Sora went sailing right past their intended target, skidding to a stop but keeping his feet.

"Sorry!" she called. Sora waved, then darted back in. He ducked under a thrashing wing, the tips of its primary feathers brushing the spiky fur on his head. Catching a blow from the heartless's second left arm on his keyblade, he was practically shoved into a Neoshadow behind him. Spinning, he sliced it in two, then continued the motion to get close to the Cyclops's side once more. With a wild cry, Sora threw himself at the massive heartless, stabbing his keyblade into its hip. He twisted, kicking off of the Cyclops's side to pull the Kingdom Key back out, then spun to try to hit the creature again. But its upper arm swatted him down, and he landed on his side in the pool of darkness. He didn't stay down long though, hopping up and rolling out of the way as the Cyclops tried to step on him.

While Sora fought his way back around to the front, Riku and Kairi were dealing with the Cyclops's other limbs as they tried to get to its trunk. Side by side, they parried and blocked, fending off swipes, slaps, and punches while also taking out the Neoshadows swarming around them. Working together they were unscathed, but they weren't making much headway and they couldn't keep it up forever.

"Think you have another big spell in you?" Riku asked over his shoulder.

Kairi nodded, swatting down a heartless with a grunt. "Just one, so we'd better make it good."

"If you shoot light at that thing, I can take the shadows it makes and hold it off," he suggested. She nodded, and started summoning her last drops of magic- only to see Sora get slammed into the ground by the Cyclops's fist.

"Sora!" Kairi yelped, sprinting forward. Riku turned, quickly out-pacing her as they raced towards their friend. The Cyclops picked Sora up, raising its fist to slam him down again. Riku jumped, stabbing his keyblade into its wrist. The heartless howled in pain, stopping its swing. Riku pulled himself up onto its arm, yanking Braveheart out. As he did, Sora wriggled his arms out of the heartless's grasp. Riku scrambled to reach Sora as the heartless began bringing another arm down to swat them.

"Stopra!" Kairi shouted, keyblade pointed straight ahead. The Cyclops froze, allowing Riku to reach Sora and pull him out. They jumped safely down, landing in front of Kairi.

"Curaga," Riku cast, keyblade pointing to Sora, then said, "We're finishing this." His friends nodded, leaning into their fighting stances.

"I'll go for the eye. You two keep it distracted," Sora stated. He didn't give them time to respond before dashing off. Riku swore under his breath before darting after him, Kairi on their heels. As they dashed forward, the stopra spell wore off and the Cyclops began moving again.

Using his height to his advantage, Sora dodged around the massive creature's hands, ears pinned back against his head. He got in too close too quickly for Riku and Kairi to follow, as both of them were forced to block swipes of the Cyclops's arms. Practically snarling, Sora leapt up, aiming to jump off of its stomach to get closer to its face. But the Cyclops bent, scything at him with a thick golden tusk. Sora yelped, narrowly twisting away and landing at the creature's feet. Riku pushed through, right behind him. Kairi was still fending off both of the heartless's right hands. All out of magic and quickly running out of strength, she staggered a little as she held up Destiny's Embrace for block after block.

Meanwhile, the boys were harrying the Cyclops, batting at its trunk with all their might. Half of its arms busy with Kairi, and with its head tethered to the ground, it had a harder time fending off the manic rabbit and determined wolf. Finally, it lifted its trunk, swatting at Riku. Sora jumped in front of him, keyblade up, and caught the blow just in time. Not that Riku had needed it - he already had Braveheart up and at the ready. Sora's leap forced him backwards, and he had barely gotten balanced again when Sora jumped up once more, lunging at the heartless's stomach.

Kairi had managed to push her way through the arms, and she dashed to Riku's side as Sora jumped again. Back to back, she and Riku fought off the last few Neoshadows while the darkness faded from under their feet. Meanwhile, Sora never landed his hit, as the Cyclops swung its trunk at him. He dodged, flipping in the air and landing a short distance from his friends.

"Sora!" Riku called, "Together!"

"Right!" Sora yelled back. He rushed over, and Riku started running to meet him. When they reached each other, Sora sprang into the air, expecting Riku to boost him up. That was not what Riku had planned - he shouted out a spell, thinking Sora would add to it. Instead, a burst of ice shot straight past the Cyclops as Sora accidentally tackled Riku to the ground. The massive heartless brought a leg up to step on the two heroes tangled on the ground, but Kairi was ready. She dove forward, slamming her full weight into the heartless's gut, leading with her elbow. The creature stumbled, staggering backwards and nearly falling.

The force of their collision sent Kairi tripping backwards, straight into Riku as he stood up. He caught her with his free hand. Growling, Kairi resumed a fighting stance. She and Sora both charged forward at the same time, and with a yell brought their blades down to slash at the Cyclops. Sora's blade caught the creature in the knees, while Kairi cut deep into its belly. Riku followed behind them, fending off arms with quick bursts of fire. Swing completed, Kairi turned, holding out her hand to Sora.

"Get ready to jump!" she told him. He nodded, grabbing onto her wrist. She threw him straight up managing to get him clear just as the trunk swiped at her, catching her in the shoulder and throwing her to the ground.

"Kairi!" Sora and Riku called simultaneously. Riku fought his way over to her side, shielding her as she got up, but Sora was still in the air. Gritting his teeth, he angled his body, bringing the Kingdom Key down with all of his force into the Cyclops's eye. As the metal bore through, the heartless disintegrated - bursting into fragments of light that vanished as they swept upwards. A crystalline heart passed through the top of the barrier, rising to the sky before fading out of sight.

Sora landed by his friends, searching both of their faces with worried eyes and furrowed brows. Riku had a hand on Kairi's back, steadying her. Her arms hung limply at her sides, keyblade already dismissed. Now that the danger was passed, she murmured something under her breath, and the barrier slowly faded away.

Shifting his feet uneasily, Sora rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at his friends. "Well… at least we did it, right?" His smile fell as he took in Riku's expression - his gaze was narrow, mouth pressed into a thin line. His ears were flicked back, but not pinned to his head. He watched Sora steadily until Sora dropped his gaze to the cement.

"Sorry…" he trailed off, ears drooping. "Are you two alright?" he looked back up at them, glancing back and forth worriedly. Riku nodded.

"I'm ok," Kairi replied, "just tired."

"Just try to be more careful next time," Riku chided. The tail end of his words was drowned out as the animals that had been watching began to cheer. Officer Hopps ran up to the three teens, skidding to a stop in front of them.

"Wow, am I glad I ran into you three!" she enthused. "Are you all ok?"

"We're fine, thanks," Riku said warmly. Judy nodded, looking over the three of them.

"Still up for a little party? The protest organizers still want to celebrate, despite everything."

Riku looked between his two friends. "Yeah, a party would probably do us some good."


	3. Party Join US

Summary: Zootopia part 3  
Bunnies, always so emotional

* * *

They followed Officer Hopps inside the club. An antelope near the door sold glow-sticks and Pred Pride merch from a booth. Animals in black shirts labeled "Pred Pride: Crew" were finishing up straightening and cleaning the aftermath of the heartless attack. Others replaced finger foods at tables along one wall. A couple of officers lined the perimeter, standing as still and out of the way as they could manage. Towards the back of the club was a bar, with three different mammals serving drinks to the partiers sitting on bar stools and standing nearby. A snow leopard was DJing in a corner by the massive dance floor, and a few clusters of animals were dancing in the center. It was a little barren, but more animals were trickling in now that the fight was over and things appeared safe.

Officer Hopps waved at the kids as she went to go stand along the wall. "See you around - have fun!" They smiled and waved back, then descended on the glow sticks. Sora got red bracelets for each wrist and a blue pendant, Kairi wanted a flower crown with a purple glow stick for the band and a purple pendant to match, while Riku looped blue, purple, and red circles around his neck. Thus equipped, Sora and Kairi immediately headed for the dance floor with Riku trailing behind. The music was loud, with a steady bass beat that rattled up through their feet. All three teens stood at the edge of the floor, hesitant to join in. Finally, Kairi grabbed Sora's hand and pulled him out with her. Though initially surprised, once they'd settled into the song he wore a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

Settling himself against a wall out of the way, Riku watched the two of them dance, a small smile on his face. The expression didn't reach his eyes.

After a couple of songs with fast, excited tempos and upbeat melody lines, the DJ selected a slower paced song. Kairi swayed back and forth, smiling down at Sora. Sure, she'd have preferred if she wasn't double his height the first time the really and truly got to dance together, but this was still nice. It was impossible to not smile when their eyes met - a rush of happy nerves filled her, and she wouldn't have been surprised at all if someone told her she was literally glowing. Enraptured as she was, she couldn't miss the occasional glances Sora threw in Riku's direction. Honestly, she kept peering at him too as he leaned against the wall and talked with Officer Hopps. He looked sad, his ears and tail low, his eyes guarded.

"I think Riku's mad at me," Sora cut through her thoughts. She turned back to him in surprise, not expecting to see him watching her watch Riku. Sora's ears drooped, his eyebrows crinkled with worry. She even noticed his nose was twitching slightly.

"He might be," she said quietly, glancing at the ground. "You were pretty crazy out there today." Looking back up, she gave him a weak smile.

Sora groaned, hunching over and dragging his hands over his face in exasperation. "Pretty stupid, you mean," he groused.

"That's not what I said." Sora looked at her again, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. "You weren't stupid," Kairi continued, "You were brave. Just, sometimes, you didn't need to be. We were there to help you, but you didn't let us." She lowered her voice, bending close to Sora so he could hear her over the music. "And in this world, this form… we were really worried for you. If that heartless had stepped on you- you could have died. Again."

Anger flashed over Sora's face, and he instinctively clacked his teeth at her, causing her to start back upright. "That's not fair and you know it!" he argued, voice cracking and louder then he meant it to be. The animals near them stopped dancing, looking at the two teenagers. Riku looked up from where he and Judy were talking, and quickly made his way to his friends.

An imposingly horned oryx strode up beside Sora. "Is this predator bothering you?" she asked, glaring Kairi down. Sora started to protest, but a polar bear spoke over him, getting in the ungulate's face.

"What makes you assume it was the predator who started the fight?" they argued.

"I didn't have to assume anything-"

"Hey! There's no fight!" Sora yelled, trying to shove his way in-between the two animals. They simply pushed around him, ignoring his voice. Other animals started taking sides and shouting over each other. Tired and irritated, Kairi shoved her way through the oryx and polar bear with a roar.

"Enough!" she thundered, silencing the animals around them, even the DJ. "Listen to him!" she pointed aggressively at Sora, determined that he was going to be heard no matter his size. Riku stood protectively beside the two of them.

"There was no fight!" Sora insisted. "Nothing happened - we were just talking. These two," he took both Riku and Kairi's hands, "are my best friends. Aren't we here because we know better than this? Aren't you here because you know there's nothing different between us- that in our hearts, we're all the same?"

The effect of Sora's words rippled out in the silent space. The other animals involved relaxed their shoulders, dropping their glares for embarrassed smiles and shrugs of acceptance. Some exchanged apologies. The DJ started up the music again, and people went back to dancing. Sora looked up at both his friends, a warm smile on his face. He gave both their hands a squeeze, then let go. He and Kairi both started dancing, but Riku turned as if to leave. Sora reached out and caught his hand again.

"C'mon, come dance with us, Riku," he urged, tugging on his best friend's hand. Riku glanced at him over his shoulder, smiling helplessly. He shook his head.

"Fine, if that's what you want," he said with a chuckle. Sora just beamed. The three of them danced the rest of the night together, only leaving in time to catch the late tram back to Bunny Burrow and their gummi ship.

* * *

Officer Judy Hopps hadn't been able to leave well enough alone. She'd been keeping an eye on the party as more and more animals arrived, but kept coming back to her three new consultants. They were younger than she'd originally realized, and she felt a little worried at having roped three children into hunting monsters for the police. Then again, it sounded like that was something they were going to do whether she involved them or not. Their story was a little fishy all around, but she couldn't fault their work. They also seemed genuine enough that she believed they had a good reason to keep things to themselves. Still, she kept a watchful eye on them, just in case.

After scanning the room for the umpteenth time, she flicked her attention back to the teenagers once more. The sight of a bunny not much taller than her dancing with a lioness made her smile. Both of them looked ecstatic to be spending time together; it was adorable. But she felt for their friend. The silver wolf leaning against the wall reminded her of another canine who wore a somber expression when he thought no one was looking. It didn't seem fair that he should be alone with friends, so she walked on over.

"They're sweet," she observed, leaning on the wall next to Riku, hands in her pockets.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then turned his attention back to his friends. "They are," he agreed with a subtle smile.

Judy watched him, and then realized who, exactly, he was looking at. "He doesn't know, does he?" she asked quietly.

Riku's ears flicked back as the smile vanished off his face. "No," he replied, letting out a breath like it was a weight, "he doesn't know."

"And you're ok with that?" she asked, looking up at him.

Riku met her gaze evenly for a beat, then turned back to watching Sora and Kairi. "Look at them," he gestured towards them with his muzzle. "Of course I'm ok with that."

"You're a good friend, Riku," Judy said sincerely. He looked at her again; she was staring at the dancers but not really seeing them, a sad smile on her face.

"You've got someone too," he observed, watching his friends again.

Judy shook her head. "No, I don't. Not anymore."

"What happened?"

She sighed. "I may have said some terrible, misguided things. I ruined our friendship… and the entire city. All at once."

Riku made a small sound, not quite a chuckle but not not one either. "I did the same thing, more or less, two years ago. It's hard to come back from that." He paused. "Sora and Kairi don't really hold grudges, but sometimes I still feel like I have to make it up to them." He looked at Judy's face. "Have you tried talking to your person? You might be surprised."

"Nope," she shook her head, giving Riku a falsely cheerful smile. "I'm pretty sure that bridge is burnt." Fake smile fading, she looked back out over the crowd. "I can't imagine him ever wanting to speak to me again."

"Who was he?" Riku asked.

Judy shook her head again. "Just some fox. You remind me a little of him, actually." That earned her an actual chuckle.

"Must be the ears," he deadpanned. Judy laughed. Both of them fell quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

"You know," Riku said quietly, "I don't think you ruined this city, no matter what you did. And I think you'd be surprised, if you talked to him again."

Judy opened her mouth to respond, but Sora's sudden outburst cut her off. In two rabbit-paced heartbeats, Riku was already at his friend's side. By the time Judy had gotten there, the whole thing was over. She watched all three of them in awe as Sora turned the crowd in five sentences. And then she watched some more, back against the wall again, while one tall grey wolf danced with his two best friends - and they never even noticed he was matching every step to both of theirs.

* * *

It was nearly 4 in the morning when they made it back to the gummi ship.

"We should find somewhere in the city to park this thing," Sora said through a yawn, ears drooping.

Kairi stretched her arms above her head, echoing his yawn. "I call using the bathroom first. You guys can set up the beds."

"Fine by me," Riku agreed, pulling the glow sticks off his neck. All three of them headed to the storage lockers along the back wall. Kairi dug through hers for pajamas and everything else she'd need to get ready for bed, while Sora started pulling out their mattresses. They were all double his height, but made of a lightweight material. He managed to clumsily wrangle them out of their places one at a time and throw them on the floor. Riku glanced over, saw the determined look on Sora's face, and decided he could handle it. He stowed his glow sticks in his locker while Kairi headed down the hatch.

"We should give Kairi her own space," he suggested walking over to fold down the two passenger seats into the floor to make more room.

Sora finished pulling the third mattress out, then turned, surveying the cabin. "How are we going to do that?"

"We could hang a curtain," Riku suggested. Sora smiled and nodded. He started digging through one of the lockers where Chip and Dale had stored extra gummi ship parts and other useful items for the journey. While he searched, Riku laid out the mattresses - two on one side, with a decent space between them, and then one across the room. Each mattress was already covered in a fitted sheet and there were more blankets in another locker.

"These'll work!" Sora crowed, holding out a bunch of gummi pieces fitted with hooks. Those engineering chipmunks thought of everything. Without any hesitation, he bounded over to Riku. "Help me up!" he insisted. Riku laughed, though his eyes and ears drooped with exhaustion. He kneeled down, helping Sora climb on to his shoulders while Sora's hands were full. Holding on to both of Sora's ankles, he carefully stood. Stacked together, they were the perfect height to reach the domed ceiling of the cabin, and soon all the hooked gummi blocks were stuck to it in a line. The boys grabbed a spare shower curtain and hung it by the hooks, splitting the cabin into two rooms. Then Sora hopped off Riku's shoulders and pulled out the rest of the bedding.

As they finished putting all of the pillows and blankets out, Kairi came back upstairs, dressed in purple pajama shorts and a pink tank top. The fur on her face was still a little damp, and she was carrying her clothes and her bag of bathroom things. She tucked those in her locker, then noticed the curtain and both of the boys watching her. Riku seemed normal, but his head was tipped ever so slightly to the side. Sora, on the other hand, was frozen, eyes a little wide and ears straight up. She glanced between the two of them, one eyebrow raised.

"We wanted to give you your own space," Riku offered. Kairi looked at the curtain, then back at them.

"Oh, thanks," she replied, turning to tuck her things in her locker. When she turned back around, arms now full of stuffed animals, Sora was still watching her out of the corners of his eyes as he fidgeted with his blankets. Riku had sat down on his bed and was messing with his phone. Kairi glanced back at the other boy. "You ok, Sora?" she asked. He practically jumped, looking down quickly and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um, yeah, totally fine," he said, giving her a grin that was half grimace before turning tail and hopping onto his bed. Completely confused, Kairi walked around the curtain to her side of the space. She smiled when she saw the boys had made her bed already - she'd expected to just find pillows and blankets in a heap waiting for her to set them up. She settled her plushies around her while listening to the boy's conversation.

"You're hopeless," Riku ribbed Sora under his breath. Sora groaned, not bothering to be quiet at all, and flopped onto his back.

"You're telling me," he grumbled.

Riku laughed, shaking his head. "Go get ready for bed; I'll go last."

"Fine." Sora rose, grabbed his stuff, and headed downstairs. When he came back up, Riku was already in pajamas - long navy blue shorts and nothing else - and texting on his gummi phone. Sora's eyes widened again, but he quickly jerked his attention to the floor and skittered back to his bed.

Riku finished his text and glanced over at his friend. Sora was laying on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the stars in a grey t-shirt and red pajama shorts. Riku couldn't make sense of his expression, so he rose without saying anything and took his turn in the bathroom. He came back up not much later.

"You two ok if I turn off the lights?"

"Yep!" Kairi called. Sora met Riku's eyes and nodded. His eyes flicked up and down once and then he quickly looked back at the stars. Riku shut off the lights, swallowing around the beating of his pulse in his throat. He took a deep, quiet breath to steady himself and then made his way to his bed and crawled under the covers.

"Good night Sora, Kairi."

"Night Riku! Night Kairi!" Sora returned, wriggling under the covers himself.

"Good night you two," Kairi added. None of them fell asleep before the sun was starting to rise.


	4. Stuff 'n Fluff

Summary: Zootopia part 4

What it says on the tin :)

See the end of the chapter for notes.

* * *

Full overhead sun woke Riku up first. Wrinkling his nose, he tried to shut his eyes tighter against the blinding glow coming through the cabin's glass roof. When that did nothing, he threw an arm over his face. It took him a few moments to realize why it felt so quiet despite being able to hear his friends' breathing.

_Another day for you to hopelessly struggle against me_, Xehanort's Heartless used to say. _Giving up now would be so much easier._

Now, there was only silence as he woke. He'd wanted that silence in his heart and in his mind. It would have proved - no, it did prove- that he had won, his long battle with his darkness was over, and he had come out the victor. He controlled his own body, heart, and mind. All of this was true, and he was proud of it.

But something in him still missed the routine of it all. And sometimes Xehanort's Heartless was just snarky enough to be amusing.

There had been times when it was nice, to not be alone.

_You're not alone now_, he reminded himself. He uncovered his eyes and glanced over at Sora. Even as a bunny, he'd managed to twist and roll and throw his blankets off his bed. His ears dangled over one side of the mattress with his head lolling on its edge. His pillow was occupied by one arm, while the other was tucked up by his shoulder and his legs were equally akimbo. Riku smiled, watching him sleep for a moment before glancing over at Kairi's curtain. He didn't like that he couldn't see her, that she could disappear again and he wouldn't know right away. _What if- No,_ he cut off his restless anxiety, refusing to give it room to grow. He could hear her, breathing faintly across the room. It was strange how different her and Sora's breathing sounded here, large lion lungs versus tiny rabbit ones. He could smell her too, though he stopped doing that almost as soon as he had started. His sense of smell had been… different since he'd be possessed but here it was almost excessively intense. He found it somewhat uncomfortable when he paid attention to it. There were some things he'd rather not know.

So he listened instead, following the steady in and out of his friends' breathing as he laid on his back. The sky was cloudless, giving him nothing else to focus on. He had the feeling that if he stopped listening, they would stop breathing. It was a stupid thought, but he felt it all the same. Before he spiraled any further into pointless anxiety, he heard Kairi's breathing shift. She woke up, sitting up and stretching with a muffled yawn.

A few moments later she pulled back her curtain, giggling quietly when she caught sight of Sora sprawled on his back. Riku gave her a small wave as a silent "good morning". Waving back, she stood and gathered stuff from her locker before heading downstairs. Riku stayed where he was, wondering how much noise they would have to make to wake up this lazy bum.

* * *

Riku took it upon himself to make breakfast, utilizing the camp stove Chip and Dale had packed for them. The smell of food finally woke Sora up, and the three of them ate in a half-asleep haze. That finished, Kairi pulled out a map that she'd had the presence of mind to grab yesterday from the Savannah Central Station. They spread it on the floor between them, weighing down the corners with pouches of munny and other small but hefty bric-a-brac.

"This is a really big world…" Sora murmured into the quiet as they stared at the map. Kairi shifted her weight, nervously gripping her wrist. Riku frowned, eyes darting back and forth across the paper. Sora and Kairi looked between him and the map, waiting for him to say something, old habits forming into new roles.

Finally, Riku said, "We need to know this place inside and out if we're going to protect it. We'll just have to take it one piece at a time. Let's start here," he pointed to the area labeled 'Downtown,' "and fan out."

"Right," Sora agreed as he and Kairi nodded.

"Could we cloak the gummi ship and land somewhere closer?" Kairi asked as they began picking up the map, "I don't want to keep taking the late night subway."

"Good idea," Riku agreed. Unsure of what else to say, the three friends set about cleaning quietly. They folded mattresses back into lockers and washed dishes in record time, dividing tasks equally and instinctively between them. Kairi wondering when they all got so quiet even as her own throat put up a wall around any words she wanted to say.

They took the gummi ship into the city and landed it in a vacant lot on the edge of the downtown area and Sahara Square. Leaving it in cloaking mode, they piled out and started combing the area, learning street names and observing the animals that lived here. They worked three streets at a time, coming back together at regular intervals. At first they were mostly around apartment complexes with business on the ground floor- pawn shops, track phone stores, tobacco parlors, nail salons, etc. Things were a little run down, but lively, as people called out to friends and chatted in doorways without care for who else was around them. Everyone seemed to know each other, and they all fit together despite the wide variety of species. The warm sense of community reminded the three of them of home.

The majority of animals here were predators, but they still gave Riku and Kairi cautious looks, knowing instantly from their stance and clothes that they didn't belong here. When they noticed Sora at all, they watched him the same way the trio had watched members of Organization XIII - like he couldn't be trusted. It made both Riku and Kairi nervous, especially since Sora himself didn't seem to notice. He smiled and nodded at anyone who made eye contact. Kairi didn't even feel her fur starting to stand on edge until Riku elbowed her gently. She dropped her gaze from the group of coyotes glowering at Sora from across the street.

Moving forward, they soon crossed over into more affluent areas. Prey were the more common sight here, coming out of shops with elegant window displays and offices that towered over the street. People in neat clothes moved in smaller groups and made a point of ignoring others around them, stepping carefully on the well maintained sidewalks. The teens moved faster here, keeping up with the crowds as they tried to navigate this alien world. Riku had the easiest time, as his unnaturally colored eyes and serious expression made prey and predator alike look away and walk a little faster.

Kairi struggled as smaller, more nervous animals skittered out of her way no matter how polite and friendly she was. Too tall and too wide, she constantly bumped into other people and things and felt mortified when a camel muttered "I thought cats were supposed to be graceful," after she apologized.

Sora fought against the opposite problem. He was the least noticeable of the three of them, and while no one seemed frightened, they also didn't appreciate his friendliness. No one returned his smiles and waves. Bigger herbivores ignored him entirely, nearly trampling him several times. He learned to start getting out of the way rather than expecting them to move.

Despite all of that, there were plenty of interesting things to see between store window displays and colorful restaurant fronts, community statues and murals, and no heartless anywhere. They reconvened in front of a row of restaurants around one in the afternoon.

"Anything to report?" Riku asked.

Kairi shook her head, frowning. "Nothing that I saw."

"No heartless, but," Sora threw his hands behind his head and grinned, "there was a really good smelling restaurant on Dama Dama street. It looked like they grill fish kinda like we do back on the Islands."

"Can you even eat fish here?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," Sora frowned, dropping his hands in disappointment, "I don't know."

Kairi shook her head. "Probably not, sorry," she gave him an encouraging smile. "There was a buffet down the block that might have good food," she suggested, pointing.

Sora grinned, "I'll take anything. I'm starving!" and as he spoke his stomach gurgled, making Riku and Kairi chuckle.

"Let's go check out this buffet," Riku agreed.

The buffet was rooted in some other country's cuisine, with a stone fountain in the entryway and decorations that reminded Sora of the Land of Dragons. It had food stations and bars spread out along the entire left third, with the rest of the space crowded with booths and tables. A host's station at the front took their payment and explained a few common sense rules before letting them enter. They stuck together reflexively, going along the stations against the wall before weaving through the center bars of food.

It was immediately apparent that the buffet catered to herbivores, but there were some cricket and fish options for carnivores. Riku built his plate around a cricket and veggie stir-fry, adding rice and a pumpkin based side that he'd never heard of before as well as some of the heartier vegetable dishes. Kairi pretty quickly discovered that anything plant related smelled just a little off and ended up being steered away from the smoothie station completely by the puma working there. "All of our smoothies are grass based, so I wouldn't recommend them for felines and other obligate carnivores. You'll make yourself sick," he informed her. She grabbed lots of grilled fish and shrimp, as well as a cricket and grain dish that was supposed to mimic mashed potatoes. Sora piled his plate high with grilled squash and veggie kabobs, roasted carrots and sautéed mushrooms, fruit he'd never seen and just brought out sweet bread made with bananas and pumpkin and quinoa and cranberries.

The three teens settled in a booth and tore straight into their food. Sora kept almost choking on bites that would have been small for a human, but were far too big for his over-eager rabbit muzzle. After the third time, Kairi couldn't help laughing, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Kairi!" Sora whined once he'd finally managed to swallow. She just laughed harder, bringing up her other hand as if that would help her hold the giggles in. Riku shook his head and smiled at both of them.

"I see Donald and Goofy didn't teach you any manners," he teased, grinning with glinting fangs. Sora scowled at him until Kairi dropped a piece of fish off her too-small fork and grumbled.

"See?" he gestured, "She can't eat right either!"

"At least she's polite," Riku countered. "This place was practically built for you. You don't really have an excuse."

Sora harrumphed before taking another bite, this one a little more manageable. Mouth still full of food, he started digging through his pockets, saying, "Wait! I meant to take pictures of our food for Little Chef." He had to stand on the bench seat to get a good angle, snapping a wide shot of all three plates and then individual shots of each one. He managed to get a couple pictures of Riku and Kairi across from him before they complained and Riku tried to pry the camera out of his hand over the table. They struggled until Sora stuck his elbow in Kairi's plate of food, and then she claimed the gummi phone, refusing to give it back to Sora until they'd all finished eating. Sora cleaned off his elbow with napkins from the dispenser on the table, and Kairi ate all her food, unconcerned that it had been stabbed, though she did have to pick a few brown hairs out. By that time, Riku was telling them a story about him and Wakka going fishing when they were kids and nearly lighting a dock on fire, and soon they were laughing and talking around their meal.

"So wait," Kairi asked Sora a little bit later, "you were a fish?"

"Sort of. I was half dolphin. It was pretty cool. I could swim crazy fast."

"What about the others?" Riku asked.

"Donald was half squid," Sora explained around another mouthful of food, "and Goofy was a turtle."

"Weird," Kairi mused.

Sora nodded, swallowing. "Whenever we're animals, Goofy's always a turtle. No clue why though."

"I thought he was a dog," Riku remarked quietly. Sora just shrugged at him, and Riku shook his head and grinned.

"We'll have to see what you two are!" Sora enthused.

"If we go," Riku said.

"Of course we're going! I haven't seen Ariel in ages."

"I'd like to meet her," Kairi added softly.

Sora grinned. "You'll like her! She fights with magic like you." He gave Riku a pointed smirk and added, "And she's almost as stubborn as you are." Riku flicked a pea at him with his spoon in retaliation.

"No food fights!" Kairi ordered immediately. "We're in public!" The boys just laughed, but no more food was thrown.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon quickly deteriorated from focused reconnaissance to three kids seeing a huge city for the first time. They tried splitting up like they had before, but the first time they reconvened Kairi ran up to both of them smelling of fear and clutching her necklace.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked, dashing over to meet her half-way. She just shook her head, pulling out a thin smile. Both boys checked her right hand a dozen times, but no keyblade appeared there.

"You ok?" Riku asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Kairi insisted, taking a steadying breath and letting go of her pendant. "There weren't any heartless or anything," Sora reached out towards her hand, but then stopped, uncertain. Both boys watched her face, trying to understand.

Kairi summoned up a better smile, "I'm ok, really. Sorry to worry you." She tucked her arms behind her back.

"Let's take the next few streets together," Riku offered.

Walking together soon had them talking again. Sora was eager to tell them about all the worlds he'd been to and the friends he'd made, pulling out his gummi phone on occasion to show them pictures he'd taken. This quickly led to him wanting selfies of the three of them standing by statues and in front of interesting store displays. They got a very good one in front of a huge mural that framed the three of them in outspread wings with a small lucky emblem hidden above their heads. Even Riku's sideways smile was genuine.

Soon Kairi was asking if they could look inside a store or two for just a moment and then they were cavorting all over, wandering through shops and even stumbling into office buildings that they didn't realize they weren't supposed to be in until they were politely asked to leave. Browsing led to buying- Kairi grabbed a dragonfly plushie and a pink tank top that featured two small sheer panels along the ribs, and a scalloped neckline leading into sheer straps that crossed each other in the back. Sora grabbed gobs and gobs of candy for them to try later, most of it things none of them had even heard of. Riku simply browsed, checking blind corners and dark doorways when he knew they weren't paying attention.

They stopped at a street cart that sold fish and veggie stir-fry for dinner, and wound up trying to go dance at a couple different clubs before a bouncer finally explained to them that you had to be of drinking age to get in, and that none of them were, and finally they wandered back to the gummi ship pleasantly tired. It was a clear night, but none of them could understand how a world could have so few stars when it wasn't that far away from anything. Still, they laid a blanket out on the grass and sprawled side by side, not wanting to go to bed just yet.

"I missed this," Kairi said into the silence that had settled around them as naturally as the breeze.

"It feels like it's been forever," Sora agreed.

"A different lifetime," Riku mused, and the other two nodded.

Kairi giggle-snorted. "I can't believe we thought we'd get anywhere on a raft!"

"Yeah, we were pretty dumb," Sora chuckled, cradling the back of his head in his hands.

"We would have figured it out," Riku said, "but it's better this way."

Sora nodded, "Yeah!"

"It's better now," Kairi amended.

He turned his head to look at her, asking, "What do you mean?"

Kairi hesitated, thinking, then explained, "I mean… it wasn't better when I was kidnapped, or trapped outside my body, or alone on the Islands for a year. It wasn't better when Riku was scared and alone or when you were scared and alone- when we were all scared and alone. I wish I'd never forgotten you, Sora, and that I'd forgiven you sooner, Riku. I wish-" she trailed off, jaw clenching around things she didn't want to say.

Riku scooted, bumping his shoulder against hers. The feeling of fur instead of skin reminded him of their strange circumstances. This had felt so much like old times he'd forgotten for a moment. "There are all things we wish went differently," he said quietly. "What's important is what we do now, together."

"Right, sorry," Kairi said sheepishly.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Sora admonished, a strange force behind his words. Kairi put a hand on his elbow, and he looked at her again. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she watched him, and she suddenly had the overwhelming urge to cry. She turned her gaze back up to the sky, forcing herself not to, hoping he hadn't seen. He didn't say anything else, but he scooted over until his shoulder was touching hers as well. His arm crossed over hers, and though his hand didn't reach her palm he held on anyway, fingers gripping gently around her forearm. Riku took her other hand in his. They fell asleep watching the stars.

* * *

**Notes:**

Meant to be doing this the whole time but I totally spaced so... ~Animal References!~

-Kiji (the country the kids are pretending to be from) is a Japan analogue. The name is based on what Google Translate gave me for "green pheasant" which is the unofficial national animal of Japan. I know Sora and Co. aren't technically Japanese, but I still thought it was an ok fit... and I was failing at animal puns.

-Dama Dama Street: "Dama Dama" is the scientific name for fallow deer.

Also, big thanks to Hecca on Ao3 and ChunkyFunkyMunky on FFN for my first reviews! I really appreciate it. ChunkyFunkyMunky brought up a good point - why is Sora a rabbit and not a lion? To be honest, I originally had him as a lion, but I felt that for my story I really wanted one of them to be a prey animal, and it was NOT gonna be Kairi (girl gets to be a badass over here. Gotta make up for KH3 somehow...) So, between Sora and Riku, well... you see where I went. He does act a bit like Judy, so I didn't feel like rabbit was too much of a stretch.

Thanks again everyone for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far.


	5. Soon It Will Be Cold Enough

Zootopia part 5

The teens scope out Tundra Town and some plot finally shows up.

See the end of the chapter for notes

* * *

A horrible rattling scraping noise had Sora bolting upright before he was even properly awake. Riku was sitting up beside them, not nearly as frantic but still concerned. Sora's Keyblade had already leapt into his hand. Kairi, in between them, groaned as she propped herself up on her elbow and rubbed her eyes.

"It's just a garbage truck," Riku informed them quietly. Kairi put a hand on Sora's arm, watching his ears pivot to track the sound. His eyes were wide, scanning, until she soothed the fur under her palm.

He looked at her almost too quickly, blinking once, then twice, before his face relaxed. "Oh," he replied, "Right. Sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, the first hints of sunlight making his expression hard to read. He dismissed his Keyblade, adding, "We should probably go back inside."

Riku nodded, standing too quickly to be as graceful as he was. Kairi let go of Sora's arm and dragged herself to her feet, scooping up the blanket once they were all off of it. The teenagers piled inside of the gummi ship, making a hap-hazard line of their mattresses, changing their clothes, and then falling back asleep.

The sun woke them up properly later, when it was high enough to send brilliant light through the glass ceiling of the cabin. Stabbed in the eyes by beams of sunlight, the trio stumbled around, taking turns in the bathroom and putting their mattresses away.

Sora pulled out the camp stove and a pile of cooking supplies: a griddle, glass bowls, a whisk, measuring cups and spoons, a cutting board, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and the berries and honey he'd bought the day before. One of the cabinet doors folded down to make a counter, and soon he was cutting up fruits and whisking batter and before Kairi or Riku could really comprehend what all the careful egg-cracking and intensely focused measuring meant, there were piles of tissue-thin crepes stuffed with cream and berries and drizzled with honey.

"Since when did you know how to cook like this?" Kairi asked around a mouthful of pastry.

"Little Chef taught me," Sora replied, mouth also full of food.

"Too bad he didn't teach you any manners," Riku teased, grinning. Sora mock-scowled at him until neither of them could keep a straight face. Kairi simply shook her head, but she was smiling.

They decided to patrol Tundra Town that afternoon. Kairi was immediately freezing, rubbing her hands together to warm her chilled fingers. Riku and Sora both offered her their coats, even though Sora was shivering and sulkily shaking snow out of his paw pads every few steps. His jacket was only big enough to wrap around her paws anyway, so Kairi told him to keep it, but gratefully spread Riku's over her shoulders like a cape. He seemed unbothered, silvery fur and light grey tank top blending in with the blue-tinted snow.

The streets here, like most of Zootopia, were full to bursting, with animals going about their day, popping in and out of stores and talking on their cellphones. Riku spotted a porcupine in a three piece suit trailed by two imposing snow leopards. There was a pair of wolves holding hands and sipping Snarlbucks coffee that Kairi found adorable. A polar bear in a bright red tracksuit talking animatedly with a caribou walking next to him almost shoved Sora over, before apologizing profusely. Once he was reassured that Sora was fine, he and his friend moved on their way.

The trio continued walking too, scanning the area for any hints of heartless. They'd gone about another block when Kairi suddenly stopped, ears pinned back as she searched frantically in front of them. Sora and Riku trailed ahead by a step or two before noticing. Sora looked back at Kairi, confused, while Riku stared in the same direction, eyes narrowed as he crouched. The fur around his neck stood up; Kairi's fur along her spine did the same. Sora looked between his friends, then followed their gaze. But all he could spot were normal animals, businesses, and lots of snow. There was a very faint sound that all three heroes of light noticed but could not place.

"Ow! What the-" the polar bear from earlier had stopped, paw to the back of his neck.

The caribou put a hand on his shoulder, looking concerned. "Are you ok?" they asked. "What happened?"

The polar bear groaned, closing his eyes and wrinkling his nose. He hunched over, making small noises and shaking his head. Kairi began moving, heading for the pair even as she looked around for the strange darkness she had sensed. The boys tailed after her, breaking into a jog.

They were too late.

With a sudden growl, the polar bear dropped to all fours, eyes open, pupils dilated. He lifted his lips in a snarl, exposing razor sharp canines, and began stalking towards his friend.

The caribou was backing up, looking horrified and confused. "Danny…?" they called quietly. The bear kept advancing, swiping at them with a massive paw. "Danny! No, no, this isn't happening. This can't be happening. You're not-" The polar bear reared up, bashing his paws into the caribou's chest, cutting off their words as they fell to the ground. He bit down on his friend's shoulder, then lifted his head for another blow. Sora caught the bear's teeth on the Kingdom Key, shoving back as hard as he could. Riku slammed into the maddened animal's side, and together they pushed him off.

"What is wrong with you?!" Sora shouted, staring into black, emotionless eyes. The bear simply roared, diving at the rabbit in front of him. Riku caught this one, careful to use Braveheart's blunt hilt rather than the blade.

Kairi kneeled by the injured caribou, putting a hand on their shoulder as Riku's jacket fluttered to the ground next to her. Destiny's Embrace appeared in her other hand. "Curaga!"

As flowers bloomed above the injured ungulate, heartless filled the street, chasing after civilians as they fled. Sora and Riku were still holding the rampaging polar bear off. The caribou lay on the ground, unconscious, body exhausted from the work of healing.

Kairi stood, watching the boys, "Sora! Guard them for me!"

Sora looked at her over his shoulder, then glanced at Riku. Catching his eye, Riku barked out, "Stopga!" freezing the charging polar bear in place. He nodded to Sora, who dashed over to Kairi's side.

"Thanks!" She called as she ran past him, immediately beginning the barrier spell. She wove through the crowd, trying not to trap anyone inside her line. Meanwhile, Riku pulled clumps of Shadows in with magnet spells, but his magic was soon exhausted.

Neoshadows and Hoppers converged around Sora, drawn in by the Keyblade and the prone victim on the ground. Sora made quick work of them, jumping back and forth over his charge, using his rabbit body to its full advantage. He didn't notice until after they were gone that he'd stepped in the puddle of blood by the caribou's shoulder. His right foot was soaked in it, and messy footsteps littered the snow around them. It turned his stomach, and he looked up at the bear frozen in time. Soulless black pupils stared back at him.

There was a bright flash and a bitter tang of spent magic as Kairi completed her circle, enclosing the remaining heartless inside. Right away, she and Riku stood back to back, mowing their way through the last few dark beings. By the time Sora got over to meet them, the heartless were gone.

"Sora, your foot," Kairi asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Sora shook his head. "It's not mine," he replied, referring to the blood. As he spoke, there was a sound akin to grinding gears, and the polar bear was suddenly in motion again, finishing the leap it had been in the middle of. It charged towards Sora, cutting him off from Riku and Kairi. He gasped as he caught the full brunt of the bear's weight on his Keyblade.

Shoving the bear back, Sora attempted to reach out to him. "Danny," he called, having heard the caribou say that name, "snap out of it!" He was met with uncaring fury, and had to bolt as the bear careened after him.

Riku caught up, shoving his way in-between them. "I don't think he can, Sora!" he grunted, pushing the rampaging animal back.

"Why is he like this?" Sora asked, voice cracking. Kairi whipped past him, grabbing the bear with her bare hands, claws carefully sheathed, giving Riku a reprieve.

Riku caught his breath for a moment, then replied, "We don't know. Officer Hopps said no one knows, remember?"

"No cause, no cure," Sora murmured. Narrowing his eyes, he dove forward, charging at the ursus Kairi was struggling to hold back. Riku called out his name, but he didn't heed it. Racing in around Kairi, he kicked one of the animal's hind legs out from under him, and the bear toppled. Kairi backed up a few steps, but before she could do anything more, Sora yelled out, "Curaga!"

The polar bear glowed green, flowers blooming above its head as it turned and snapped at Sora's arm. He yelped, feeling teeth slice through the fur by his elbow, and back pedaled out of the way.

"Stop!" Kairi called, freezing the bear again. Sora continued to scrabble backwards, eyes fixed on the bear's, until he could regain his feet. Riku reached them and caught Sora, stopping his frantic backwards motion with a steady paw on his back. Both boys watched as three cop cars and an ambulance pulled to a stop around their circle, lights flashing.

Kairi murmured a word Riku and Sora couldn't make out, and then the barrier dropped. EMTs rushed to the caribou, who was starting to wake up. The ZPD officers approached the bear cautiously, unsure of what to make of the magic holding him in place.

"It's going to wear off soon," Kairi told them urgently. They got the muzzle on quickly after that, and one of the EMTs gave him a sedative as well. He'd barely pulled the needle out when the polar bear came thrashing back to life. Fortunately, the sedative worked quickly, and by the time the press arrived with their cameras the bear was reduced to pacing and shaking his head.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood clustered together, off camera, answering questions and recounting what had happened to two of the officers, a lion and a hippo.

"What's going to happen to him?" Sora asked once the officers were satisfied, peering around them at the restrained polar bear.

"He'll be taken to our secure facility, where the rest of the savage animals are," the senior officer, a lion, answered calmly.

"Oh," was the only reply Sora could manage.

"Thanks for all your help. You guys really saved the day on this one," the other officer said, tipping his snout to them.

"Of course," Riku replied.

"We're happy to help," Kairi added, tucking Riku's jacket tighter around her shoulders. She frowned as she watched the polar bear get loaded into a secure transport vehicle, which basically amounted to large box, not unlike a trailer, with a truck cab on the front end of it. Riku watched with her, while Sora tried to scrub the blood off of his foot with snow.

"It's not going to come off like that," Riku informed him as he walked over. Sora acted like he didn't hear and kept scrubbing between his toes. His hands shook, and the skin on his paw pads was bright red with the cold.

Kairi put a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to freeze." He stopped and glared down at his foot, panting breaths wreathing out around his face like smoke.

"I don't understand," he finally said, voice tense. Kairi and Riku exchanged a confused look. Riku shrugged slightly. His hand was clenched at his side.

Kairi resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him and turned her attention back to Sora. "What don't you understand?"

Sora whipped his head around to look at her, and she was surprised at the anger on his face, as well as the tears in his eyes. "What was that?" he demanded, "If it wasn't darkness, and it wasn't a sickness, why would he turn on his friend like that?" Outburst done, he took a few shaky breaths, then looked down at his hands. "Why couldn't I reach him?" he asked quietly.

"Sora…" Kairi murmured, unsure of what else to say. She looked to Riku for help, but his expression was carefully neutral. When she met his eyes, he turned away. "I… I don't know," she admitted quietly, "but if we don't get you out of the snow you're going to get frostbite."

Sora looked back up at her, then nodded. He carefully climbed to his feet, turning to walk to the nearest bus station. Kairi and Riku walked beside him in silence.

* * *

By the time they were out of Tundra Town, Sora had already perked up, ribbing Riku about a pretty wolf girl they passed and insisting on buying the three of them ice cream to celebrate saving the day. He continued pointing out cool features of the city around them and pulling stupid stunts and making the absolute worst puns through dinner, until they were all laughing and smiling like before. He didn't notice when Riku snapped a picture of him balancing on a thin fountain ledge, arms stretched out, setting sun looking like it was resting in the palm of his hand.

Safe inside the gummi ship, Sora hopped straight into the shower, while Riku and Kairi set up the beds. When Riku went to hang up the curtain, Kairi stopped him with a hand on his arm. "I don't really need that," she said, not quite meeting his eyes. He considered her for a moment, then unhooked the two sections he had already put up and folded the curtain neatly away. They pulled out the mattresses and blankets in silence.

"Do you think Sora's ok?" Kairi asked as she made up her bed.

Working on his own bed, Riku glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes, Her tail was low, ears turned in his direction as she fluffed her pillow and laid out stuffed animals, tucking the blankets around them. She very carefully avoided looking up.

"It's Sora," he said finally, moving over to start making Sora's bed. "He'll be fine. It's not like we haven't seen plenty of blood before," he added in a more subdued tone. Kairi did look at him at that, but his head was carefully down this time.

"Lea once broke his arm so bad the bone was sticking out," she said, then added, "It was my fault."

"You were training," Riku soothed, still not looking at her "it happens."

"Today doesn't just 'happen,'" she replied quietly. They both looked up, meeting each other's eyes, but before anything more could be said, the sound of rabbit feet on metal stairs echoed up to them.

"Your turn, Kairi!" Sora called as he jumped the last two steps into the cabin proper. "Thanks for making my bed, Riku," he added, walking over and flopping on it. Riku smiled and shook his head, going to lay in his own spot. Kairi grabbed her stuff and padded down the stairs.

Fiddling with his phone, Sora turned to look at Riku, "Do you care if I call Donald?"

Riku shrugged, "Fine with me."

"Thanks!" He tapped at the screen enthusiastically, muttering "c'mon, c'mon, pick up," under his breath while it rang. Finally, there was an answer in the form of an ear-splitting "SORA!" as Donald picked up the video call.

A camera adjustment later, the grand wizard immediately started cackling at the sight of his friend's new form. Sora tried to defend himself, "It's not funny, Donald! That's just how the spell works!"

"You're a bunny rabbit!" Donald just wheezed back, laughing hard enough for his eyes to water. "Goofy! C'mere! Sora's a bunny!"

"Gwarsh, Sora, you are a bunny!" Goofy exclaimed, face coming into view a little too close to the phone's camera. Donald shoved him back so he could see again.

"Guys!" Sora protested, "It's not that big of a deal!"

"It's hilarious!" Donald insisted.

"You do look pretty funny," Goofy admitted sheepishly. "But what did you call us for? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Sora said with a shake of his head. "But I had a question for Donald about cure magic."

"What do need to know? I taught you everything about that already," Donald quacked.

"Well what about when it doesn't work?"

"Doesn't work?" Donald squawked in surprise, "Nonsense! You're good at that spell; you've had to use it often enough," he added, smirking.

"Donald!" Sora grumbled, exasperated. It didn't help that Riku was barely trying to hide his laughter. Sora shot him a glare, then turned back to the phone. "It's not like that. It worked… it just didn't fix him."

Goofy leaned over Donald to be centered on the screen, "I think you're gonna have to explain what happened, Sora."

Sora frowned, eyebrows furrowing, "It's… it's hard to describe," he said finally, sitting up and crossing his legs. His free hand fiddled with the cuff of his pant leg, and he wasn't looking at the camera any more.

Donald and Goofy swapped a look. "Is everything ok?" Donald asked gently.

"Yeah… of course," Sora glanced up, flashing them a quick smile that didn't fool Donald, Goofy, or Riku. "There was this… well, like, we're all animals here, right? Everyone's an animal and there was this polar bear and he was walking with his friend and then Kairi and Riku sensed something weird and he was suddenly _attacking_ his friend. But he wasn't a heartless or controlled by darkness or anything. It was really weird."

"Gwarsh," Goofy interjected quietly.

Sora just nodded and went on, "So Riku and I shoved him off his friend and Kairi healed them and there were a bunch of heartless but the bear just… he kept attacking us. His eyes were… it was really weird."

"He was trying to eat Sora," Riku said, leaning over Sora and making him jump. He'd been so engrossed in trying to describe what had happened that he hadn't noticed Riku walking over and crouching down beside him.

"Was he?" Sora asked, surprised. Riku raised an eyebrow and just looked at him. Sora's ears flicked back as he said, "Oh…" Perking up again, he went back on with his story, "Anyway, I thought maybe cure magic would fix him and the spell went off it just… didn't work."

"What happened?" Goofy asked, still concerned.

Riku clarified, "We used stop magic on him until the police arrived and muzzled him."

"Sora," Donald chimed in, "What can't you fix with cure?"

"Lifelong illnesses, like if you had bone disease or your blood doesn't clot, things like that. But this wasn't anything like that. He talked to us like five minutes before he went nuts."

Donald frowned, but prompted, "What else?"

"What else?" Sora repeated, confused.

"Illness of the mind," Riku supplied quietly. "You think that's what happened?" he asked Donald.

"Sounds like it," Donald agreed gravely. "Sorry, Sora."

"I mean… that makes sense, I guess," Sora replied, ears falling low.

"It's still good to talk to ya!" Goofy threw out, trying to cheer him up.

Sora beamed back at the two of them, "It is! I think you guys would like this place. Though you'd probably look even funnier than I do," he teased, smile turning into a smirk. Donald squawked at him, shaking the phone. Goofy just laughed.

Riku shoved Sora over, laughing, then took the phone from him. "Talk to you guys later," he said, closing out the call once they'd chimed out a finally good-bye. Sora chose that moment to tackle him, scrabbling for the phone.

They were still wrestling over it when Kairi came back upstairs. She watched them for a moment, set her stuff on the floor, and then charged into the middle of it, snatching the phone out of Sora's grip and holding it above both their heads.

"Kairi!" Sora protested, "Give it back!" Kairi just laughed, until Riku tackled her, pinning her on her side. He tried grabbing her arm, but she held it stiff, trying to kick at him with her hind legs. Meanwhile, Sora just got up and grabbed the phone, but Riku kicked his legs out from under him and Kairi pinned him down and eventually they were all in a tangled, breathless, laughing heap while the phone lay just out of their reach.

It was about then that it dawned on all of them that Sora was sprawled across Kairi's hips, that Riku had his arm wrapped around them both which meant that with the way Kairi was curled the back of his head was against her chest and that she was breathing down his back, hands just inches from his waist. They all got up very quickly, grateful for the fur on their faces hiding their blushing. Riku bolted for the shower without saying anything, and Kairi got up to put her things away, humming to herself. Sora fetched his phone, climbed under his covers and rolled onto his side, staring at the screen. _What was that about?_

* * *

Notes:

Chapter name comes from Emanciaptor's 2006 album, but I was specifically thinking of the song "First Snow" which is the only song from that album/that artist I knew... Somewhere I got the album name and song title crossed, but I still like this chapter title, so I left it. Also, now that I've hunted it down on YouTube the whole thing seems to work pretty well as a soundtrack for this chapter.

For reference, I'm gonna be calling Lea/Axel Lea because him suddenly switching back in KH3 drove me insane and I refuse to acknowledge it. (Quite frankly just about everything they did with his character in KH3 made me irritated and will mostly be ignored for the little he shows up in this story.)

And yes, I might be one of the five people that genuinely enjoyed the mini-games with Remy.

Thanks again everyone for reading/reviewing/kudos/commenting! I really appreciate it - you all make my week


	6. Try Everything

Summary: Zootopia part 6

No sheep were harmed in the making of this film.

See the end of the chapter for notes.

* * *

When Riku woke, Sora was already sitting up, staring at the silhouettes of buildings against the streaking sunrise. His paw ran back and forth over the top of his right foot, the nail on his thumb digging into the skin of his paw pads. His left hand was clutching his crown necklace. Riku couldn't understand the expression on his face, though he stayed still and watched him for almost a full minute.

Beyond them, Kairi was also awake, rolled onto her side and fiddling with her phone. Every few seconds, she glanced up at Sora, watching for changes. When her eyes met Riku's, she frowned and tilted her head, asking a silent question neither of them had the answer to.

Sora's thumb pressed into the points of his necklace, moving steadily from one to the other- left, center, right, center, left, center, right, over and over. He barely felt it through the calluses on his hand.

Riku got tired of feigning sleep and sat up. Sora jumped, whipping his head around at the faint sound of fabric against fur. The smell of fear wafted off of him, wrinkling Riku's nose and pulling at his hackles. Why that damn emotion out of all them got a smell, Riku didn't know, but he hated it. Especially when he himself seemed to be the cause. Sora's thumb was still moving back and forth over his necklace, center, right, center, left, center, right. Riku realized he was staring at Sora's hand, reflexively not meeting his friend's eyes. He forced himself to look up. Sora looked through him, nose twitching, focused on something neither of them could see. "You ok?" Riku asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"Oh, yeah, fine," Sora replied too fast, snapping back to reality. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, flashed a too big smile and added, "Just watching the sunrise. I thought you were asleep."

Riku just shook his head. At least Sora's hands had stilled, halting that strange fidgeting rhythm to just clutch the necklace in his palm. Riku stood, walking to his locker without a word. He was downstairs before he realized he probably should have said something.

Kairi sighed as she sat up. "Looks like someone's grumpy," she murmured once Riku was out of earshot. Sora's eyes caught hers, so she made an exaggerated angry face.

Sora forced himself to chuckle, and was rewarded with a small smile. They studied each other for a moment, grins fading. He couldn't make any sense of the worry tangled in Kairi's eyebrows and the corner of her mouth, pulled back thin and frowning. His face didn't make any more sense to her; something unreadable tucked in the blue of his eyes.

Sora dropped his gaze first.

"I'll make breakfast," Kairi finally offered into the silence.

"You want any help?"  
She shook her head, "No, it's my turn." She got up, heading towards the lockers before looking over her shoulder. Sora was watching her again, and when she caught his eye she smirked. "You can do dishes."

He made a good show of grumbling but they both knew he didn't mind.

* * *

Freshly showered, Riku's stomach growled as he climbed back upstairs. Breakfast was almost done cooking, with Kairi towering over their fold-out counter and Sora sitting on the edge of it, kicking his legs. The sight made Riku smile - he'd done that since they were little, perched on the edge of the docks. It was as familiar as palm fronds and grilled fish, the rhythm of waves and sand in his shoes, the way the sun set on the islands and the arrangement of the stars in the summer sky. Home.

He'd been full of plans, but they'd all left his head. Maybe they could rest a little longer, just a moment more before he had to be Master again.

"Feeling better?" Sora asked, seeing his smile.

"Me?" Riku asked, surprised, "You're the one who was moping at the sunrise"

"I wasn't moping!"

"You were definitely moping," Kairi agreed, giggling.

Sora grabbed a wooden spoon and jabbed with it at her arm. "Was not!" Kairi snatched the spoon back, wiping it on a towel before stirring their food once more. Riku took the opportunity to mess with Sora while he wasn't paying attention, roughly mussing the other boy's spiky fur between his ears. "Riku!" Sora protested, swatting ineffectually at his friend's arm. Riku laughed and went to walk away when Sora launched himself from the counter, arms latching around Riku's neck in an attempted chokehold. It worked a lot better when they were closer to the same size.

* * *

They ate breakfast, and then spread out their map again, debating what they should do from here. Once again, Sora and Kairi looked to Riku, expecting him to already have the answers. He resisted the urge to sigh.

"We need to know what we're dealing with, and the city is too big to just wander around aimlessly. Not to mention how often you two get distracted," he gave them a pointed look. Sora frowned, insisting that that wasn't true, but Kairi had the decency to look slightly sheepish. Riku continued, "We need more information, and we know where to get it - the police. They'll have documents listing where heartless have shown up in the past and the best ways to patrol the city. I was thinking Officer Hopps might help us."

"You talked to her at the party, right?" Sora asked. Riku nodded, expression carefully neutral. Sora just chimed, "Sounds good to me. What do you think, Kairi?"

"I think that makes sense," she affirmed.

Lucky for them, Officer Hopps was at the station doing paperwork when they showed up. Clawhauser walked them back to her desk, and she was more than happy to get out of there and do some "real police work" as she phrased it.

"I've been digging up some information since the last time we saw each other," Judy explained as they walked to a police cruiser. "I figured you would need it." She passed them a manilla folder. "The - Heartless? Is that what you called them?"

"Yeah," Sora confirmed. Kairi was flipping through the folder while Riku looked over her shoulder.

"The heartless didn't start showing up until savage case number seventeen, and even then it was only ever one or two. No one could catch them; they just seemed to vanish into thin air. The day before you arrived was the biggest sighting so far, with approximately a dozen of them spotted around a savage wolf. We've had a lot of missing persons cases since then. I think they might be connected."

Riku and Sora exchanged a look behind her back. Riku shook his head firmly, causing Sora to frown at him.

Officer Hopps carried on, clicking a button on her key fob to unlock the police car as she spoke, "Obviously, there's been two more sightings since you got here. The one from the Pred Pride party was the biggest outbreak we've seen. We're lucky you three were able to contain it." She paused to hop into her seat, and to let them scramble in as well. Kairi took the front seat, nose still buried in the paperwork, while Riku and Sora piled in the back.

"That's the short version, anyway," Judy concluded. "That file has all the details I could find."

"So there's definitely a connection," Riku mused, "between the animals going savage and the heartless appearing."

"Seems like it," Judy agreed, starting the car and backing out of its parking spot.

"They always happen in the same location," Kairi added, "One right after the other."

They all fell silent, unsure what to say against the breadth of their ignorance. Judy merged into traffic from the parking ramp as Kairi passed the folder back to Riku so he and Sora could look at it.

They studied the folder for several minutes before Sora asked, "Did any of them know each other?"

"The animals that went savage? Not really," Judy replied. "One was driving the other when it happened, but they were basically acquaintances. The driver didn't turn until later, and it's been proven that there's no communicable illness between the two of them. It was just a weird coincidence."

"No connections at all then?" Riku asked.

"Not that we've found," Officer Hopps admitted. "They're from all kinds of income brackets, neighborhoods, businesses, across nearly every predator species. Ages are pretty spread out too. More of them are male, but we don't really know why. Some people think it has to do with hormones - that testosterone makes people more likely to go savage, but I'm not so sure. I've done enough speculating as it is."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

Judy's ears drooped. "I'm the one who made the connection, when we found the first fourteen savage animals, that they were all predators." She opened and shut her mouth a few times, searching for the right words. Finally, she settled on, "It's a long story."

"We've got time," Sora pointed out, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back in his seat. Despite the ease of the gesture, he wasn't smiling.

"If you want to talk about it," Kairi added, noting Judy's expression.

Judy glanced at her, then at the boys in her rear view mirror. "You probably should know anyway, and I'd rather you heard it from me." She took a deep breath, then began, "Originally, we didn't know animals were going savage, they were just 'missing'." She put air quotes around the word with her free hand. "Fourteen mammals, to be exact. By sheer stubbornness, and some bureaucratic meddling, I got put on a case to find one of them, an otter. One thing led to another and with the help of a clever fox," she smiled for just a moment, "I managed to find not just one, but all fourteen mammals. Turns out our previous mayor knew about animals going savage and was rounding them up. Admittedly, he was trying to find a cure, but still, not a _great_ move.

"Anyway, while we were there I heard the lead physician talking with him about why the animals were going savage, and by the time the press conference came around… I was certain she was right. It was my first press conference and it was overwhelming - all the lights and the cameras, a bunch of reporters asking questions and shoving microphones in my face. I panicked. I said what I knew, in, like, the worst way possible, and I ended up making it sound like any predator could go savage." She took a deep breath. "I blamed biology, when we don't even know for sure if that's a factor. I didn't realize what I'd done until Nick… well, let's just say he made things pretty clear."

"What happened then?" Sora asked.

"You've seen it - the city's been a mess. Predators keep turning and we aren't any closer to finding out why. Tensions are high. People just want to feel safe, so they're taking it out on the minority. Until you three showed up, we were keeping a lid on the heartless stuff going on in the background, but after that huge fight… we'd never be able to get all the videos off social media. So we didn't try. Now people have even more to be scared of."

Sora shook his head. "I meant with you and Nick. Did you get a chance to make up?"

"He didn't… he doesn't owe me that. I said some awful things… I don't blame him for not wanting to speak to me again."

"But he's your friend, right?" Sora pressed. "I'm sure he'd understand."

Judy let out a low chuckle. "You really weren't kidding about him," she teased, making eye-contact with Riku through the rearview mirror.

Riku smirked back at her, "Yeah, he's always been like that."

"Like what?" Sora asked, annoyed.

"Forgiving," Kairi supplied, looking over her shoulder to give Sora a warm smile. He cocked his head at her, seemingly confused at how everyone was in on this conversation except him.

Seeing the expression on his face, Riku just laughed, "Don't worry about it, Sora."

It only took a minute for Sora to forget to fake-pout about it.

* * *

The rest of that day was spent carefully combing through locations where animals had turned savage. Officer Hopps guided them to each spot, filling in details about each incident. But no matter who searched where, there wasn't a hint of darkness or fleck of evidence to help them. Nothing more could be found, and no connections were made. The incidents seemed random, and the teens could only surmise that whatever caused the transformations made a large enough surge of darkness to draw heartless to it.

While they were frustrated with their progress, the lack of heartless attacks or savage incidents was a relief. It was fun getting to know Officer Hopps. Over the next week, she became their sort of unofficial babysitter for the ZPD, taking them with her around the city and keeping them informed about what was going on. She took them to lunches and recommended movies, gave Sora tips about using his rabbit size to his advantage and punched Riku on the shoulder when he got too serious. They told her jokes and piled into her tiny apartment to watch tv. Kairi brought her breakfast on a morning they had extra, and Riku texted her updates when the trio went out searching on their own.

It surprised all of them when she texted good-bye.

_Hey guys, I'm really sorry but I'm not going to be around for a while. I'm going home to Bunny Burrow to try to clear my head. Chief Bogo's gonna have Officer Francine take you around, so you can still keep tabs on everything._  
_Sorry to say good-bye over text._

She sent it to all three of their phones, but they still checked each other's screens to make sure they weren't dreaming it up.

_Thanks for letting us know,_ Riku sent, _Take care of yourself and we'll see you soon._

_Are you ok? Is there anything we can do to help?_ Sora typed, thumbs flying.

_I'm ok,_ Judy replied. Then, much later, _Feel free to come visit if you want._

_It's ok,_ Kairi sent, having typed out and then deleted a couple of other replies. _Do you want us to tell you if we find anything?_

_That would be nice, thank you._

Despite their best efforts, Sora and Riku didn't have more to send her than emojis and memes, selfies around town and candid shots of the other two taken when they weren't looking.

Kairi, on the other hand, made writing to Judy part of her nightly routine.

_Hi Judy! We surveyed the Rainforest District today, mainly the Muddy Swamp region by Vole Garden. No clues, but there were a couple of heartless. They didn't give us any trouble, though. Sora's been practicing that jump you taught him, and it really paid off. So thank you for that._

_Haha I can't believe Sora sent you that! I'll never understand boys._  
_Today was pretty calm. I think Officer Francine is finally starting to warm up to us. Remember how I said she was really uncertain at first? I think she resented having to watch us. But now she and Riku talk about photography almost non-stop and she and Sora have worked out a technique where she throws him around with her trunk. It's really cool (but she did tell me she thought you would be better at it _?_)_

_Hi Judy, I'm sorry to bring you bad news. There was another savage incident: a badger this time. We were on the opposite side of the city, but Francine got us there in time. There were some injuries, but nothing that couldn't be treated. The heartless did show up, and we took care of them, but we didn't learn anything new. I can tell Riku's getting really frustrated, and Sora's been pretty shaken up. Seeing someone like that really upsets him. I'm worried about them both, but I'm sure they'll be ok. How are you doing?_

Judy always texted back, though more often than not she sent just a few short sentences. She rarely initiated conversation, so when a new text came through, the Keyblade wielders paid attention. The teens stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk, all three whipping out their phones. They had been wandering listlessly through Sahara Square, trying to find somewhere to eat. None of them were particularly hungry, as another animal had gone savage that morning, so they were eager for something to do.

_Meet me at the bridge by cypress grove ln and willow switch circle asap,_ Judy's text read.

The three of them exchanged glances. Sora nodded, gaze firm. Riku took off at a jog, the other two at his heels.

—

A subway ride later, they were walking through a once affluent, now mostly abandoned area overlooking Bayou Bay and the Zootopia Sound. Remains of old brick factories with shattered windows stood adjacent to established weeping willow trees and towering oaks. The once gravel paths had been worn away to dirt, and the concrete and brick remains of walls and posts were pitted and covered with moss.

As Judy had said, there was a bridge near the crossroads of Cypress Grove Lane and Willow Switch Circle. It connected two embankments, allowing a perpendicular path to meander underneath it. Judy stood on that path to the left of the bridge, wiping her eyes and smiling. A fox they hadn't met was smiling down at her, pocketing what looked like a plastic carrot. His and Judy's ears flicked as they heard the gravel crunching under the teenager's paws, and by the time Sora was skidding down the embankment, all grins and excitement, they had turned to face the newcomers.

"Hi Judy!" Sora called, practically bouncing to a stop in front of them. "Who's this?"

Judy couldn't help but chuckle. "This is Nick, the fox I told you about. Nick, meet Sora, Riku, and Kairi," she introduced, pointing with an open hand to each person in turn. Riku nodded in acknowledgement, while Kairi simply smiled and tucked her arms behind her back.

"You told them about me?" Nick asked, surprised and pleased. He placed a paw over his heart as she nodded, exaggerating his sincerity with demure flicked back ears and a half-bow, "I'm honored."

Judy just rolled her eyes and grinned.

"So, what's going on?" Sora asked, ready to get to the point.

"Oh, right! Of course, sorry," Judy said, looking a little embarrassed. "I know what's making predators go savage- _Midnicampum Holicithias_, otherwise knowns as 'Night Howlers.' They're a kind of flower that's toxic when ingested. Someone must be infecting animals with it."

"Specifically targeting predators," Riku noted.

"Exactly," Judy agreed. "We need to find out who and bring them to justice."

"What's the plan?" Nick asked.

"You and me," Judy gestured between the two of them, "are going to follow the Night Howlers. Sora, Riku, and Kairi are going to come with us in case heartless show up."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Heartless?"

"Those dark creatures," Judy explained.

"Oh, those. Hey, I've seen you three on the news. You're the bunny with a death wish," Nick quipped, pointing at Sora. Sora bristled, frowning, but Riku put a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off.

"How are we following flowers?"

Judy pulled out her phone, showing Nick a picture, then turning it to the kids. "Know this guy?" she asked Nick.

"Uh-huh. I told you; I know everybody."

"I arrested him for stealing Night Howler bulbs. We just need to find out why."

It didn't take much discussion after that. Judy and Nick climbed into the cab of Judy's family truck, while the teenagers piled in the truck bed. Nick led them to the weasel with ease, and it took very little effort to get the information out of him once Riku pulled out his Keyblade.

They followed the weasel's description to a little used subway station. After wriggling through a hole in the metal gate covering the entrance (a feat in and of itself for Riku and Kairi), they descended the stairs. As they proceeded, everyone became more and more tense, their fur standing on end, noses and ears twitching.

Sora started fidgeting. "Do you guys feel that?" he asked quietly, right hand opening and closing. Riku nodded, jaw clenched.

"You mean the general air of abandonment and decay?" Nick quipped, voice hushed, "You get used to it." Despite his tone, the fur on his scruff stood on end, and his ears were back. He stuck close to Judy's side.

"Riku," Judy said, glancing in the wolf's general direction in the dark, "you take point. Nick, stick with me."

"Roger that, Carrots," Nick said as they stepped off the stairs and through the dilapidated archway into the station proper. Directly in front of them were the broken skeletons of turnstiles. The Keyblade wielders ducked behind the tallest one, with Nick and Judy talking the slightly shorter one to the left of it.

Beyond the turnstiles, the space was large, clearly built for crowds of commuters, but it was in disrepair, with flickering lights and cracked tiles. Rubble and rebar were everywhere, and roots from above ground had punched through the ceiling, winding around the cement columns. In the half-light from the remaining bulbs stood a rust bucket of a subway car. The only color left on it was the spray painted signatures scrawled on every available surface. As they stared, the blinding glow of another subway car filled the tunnel, rocketing past the abandoned station.

The train car they were looking for sat on an offset track, and once the passing train was gone, four hulking heartless rose from the darkness underneath its wheels. The creatures were shaped vaguely like rams, with spiral horns and roving yellow eyes. Thick, turbid darkness filled out their hunched forms like wool. They had shoulders that were massive in comparison to their hips, and their legs ended in over-sized red hooves, each one bigger than their head. The heartless symbol was emblazoned on their chests.

Riku turned to Judy and Nick, "We'll take care of the heartless, you two do what you need to do. Sora, make sure they get there.""Right!" Sora whispered, nodding firmly. "On three," Judy stated, turning her attention to their goal. "One…"

The whole group tensed, focused.

"Two…"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi summoned their Keyblades, filling the tunnel with flashes of light.

"Three!" Judy called, and without hesitation the group surged forward. The heartless had already felt the Keyblades' presence and had turned towards the five of them. Riku and Kairi stepped over chunks of concrete, racing to meet them. Sora, Nick and Judy were right behind them, jumping over rubble as they bee-lined for the subway car. Kairi caught the first ram by the horns, forcing it back with Destiny's Embrace. She shouted, and a pillar of light sprang from her, slamming into the heartless and shoving it back. Riku charged into a heartless on the left, hacking and slashing at its torso with surety and speed.

The other two came straight for Sora, Nick and Judy. "Freeze!" Sora yelled, blasting them back with a flurry of ice shards, the largest of which hit them straight in the chest. The heartless staggered backwards. Sora pressed forward, Nick and Judy right on his tail.

A stray hoof from the heartless Kairi was fighting nearly clipped Nick in the head, but Judy called out, "Duck!" and he managed to dodge it just in time, feeling the air whoosh across the tips of his ears. Kairi batted the heartless further away. Riku took down his ram, then drew in one of Sora's with a magnet spell.

Sora forced the remaining heartless back with blasts of magic, catching himself as he tripped over a hunk of rubble. Nick carefully steered Judy around it, night vision coming in handy. They kept moving, quickly crossing the short distance to the train car. As they reached it, a real ram in a yellow hazmat suit opened the door.

"Stopga!" Sora called, pointing the Kingdom Key at the ram as he dug in his pocket for his phone. He froze on the spot, eyes wide. His body blocked the door, but Nick and Judy were already scrambling in through a window as Sora fought off the heartless at their backs. Kairi crushed her target with a final pearl of light, and hardly a beat later Riku and Sora had finished off their enemies, shining hearts rising to the arched ceiling above them. The heroes of light grinned at each other, then turned as the sound of hooves on tile echoed through the space.

Riku pointed, and the three friends ducked around the train car, scrabbling quietly on the gravel between the tracks. Two more rams entered the station platform, coffee in hand. They headed straight for the rusty subway car, talking quietly amongst themselves as Riku led the other two around to the front of the car, careful to crouch under the windows.

"Doug?" they heard one call. Sora's nose twitched, all three teens practically holding their breath as they hunkered on the ground. "That's not funny dude," the other said with a voice that grated like steel wool. "What the hell is this, man?" The first one asked, clearly spooked. Then, "Hey!" and they heard hooves on metal as the car rocked slightly, bouncing under their weight as they clamored aboard.

"Carrots!" Nick called, and a door slammed. Sora, Riku and Kairi leapt to their feet, staring through the glass at Nick and Judy in the conductor's booth.

"We're taking this to the ZPD!" Judy called out to them. "Take care of the rams!" The teens nodded, sprinting around the side and scrambling into the car as it began to move. One of the rams, dressed in a white tank top, was charging the door, slamming into it with his horns. The other had crawled through a hatch in to top, feet disappearing as Sora, Riku and Kairi entered. The sheep in yellow was still frozen, shoved into a corner by his friends and then the momentum of the rusty subway car.

"That's enough of that," Riku stated, pointing Braveheart at the animal currently using his own skull for a battering ram. He fired off a stopra spell, and the sheep froze, a foot away from the door. Hoofbeats thudded above them, and the teens heard a muffled joke from Nick followed by the sound of shattering glass.

"Help me up," Sora suggested to Kairi, pointing at the hatch above them. She picked him up, and standing on her shoulders he could just reach the lip of the hole. She stretched to her tip-toes as he pulled himself over, climbing out onto the roof. The tunnel had barely enough room for him to sprawl flat against it, and he ducked his head as a flashing warning light streaked above him.

Inside the car, Nick had let Riku and Kairi in the conductor's booth. Judy was pinned against the controls, keeping a firm hold on the crank that kept the train in motion. A ram was half inside, having smashed the window and put his shoulders through it. He grabbed Judy's arm as Kairi shoved him back through the window, pulling the rabbit with him as he fell. Judy flew into the air as the momentum separated her from the ram. Kairi dove for the rabbit, snatching her up just in time. Nick grabbed the controls, keeping them moving.

"Don't stop!" Judy ordered him, dangling from Kairi's paws. The ram they'd pushed onto the tracks sprinted ahead of the train, begging for them to stop as it inched closer and closer to him. "Whatever you do, don't stop this car!" Judy repeated.

Kairi hauled Judy safely back inside the train. They whizzed past the ram, who pinned himself to the wall as the train sheered the shirt and wool off of his belly.

Inside, Riku turned, catching the recently unfrozen ram by the horns as his spell wore off. Behind them, the ram in the hazmat suit was released as well. He finally dug out his phone, placing a call.

"We have a situation at the lab!" he managed to yelp before Kairi sped around Riku and swatted the phone out of his hand. It went skittering across the floor, landing under one of the tables growing Night Howlers. The ram dove for it, but Kairi blocked him. She forced him backwards, and he tripped, tumbling out the open back door.

The train flew out of the tunnel into broad daylight. Sora, still on the roof, leapt to his feet. Not far enough away, a red train was speeding down the track towards them. Up ahead, the track split, and a lever to the side directed the flow of trains.

Sora darted to the hatch he'd climbed through, sticking his head down. Nick was gripping the controls, looking panicked at the quickly approaching train. Judy, next to him, was perched on a chair and clearly thinking. Riku and Kairi were struggling back and forth with the final ram, wrestling around the crowded laboratory.

"Nick! Speed up!" Sora called. As he did, Kairi threw the ram, hoping to dash him against the wall. Instead, he flew through the door, getting stuck through the broken window at the front of the train.

Nick and Judy flinched as the ram flew past them, then Nick shouted, "There's another train coming!"

"I know! I've got it!" Sora replied, disappearing again.

"Speed up!" Riku ordered. Reluctantly, Nick agreed. As he pushed the lever forward, Sora jumped down, holding onto a metal bar that ran down the front of the train and kicked the ram free. The ungulate went flying, hitting the switch and changing the track as Sora landed inside. The trains passed each other safely, but then their car started to roll.

"Toofasttoofast! Hold on!" Nick panicked, calling out a loud warning. He and Judy were wrenched from the controls, slamming against the window with Sora as the car landed on its gun case they had grabbed from the lab earlier slammed into Nick's stomach a beat later. Behind them, Riku scrambled forward, hooking an arm around Kairi and grabbing the edge of the door frame. Lab equipment flew around them, throwing up showers of sparks. Groaning with the effort, he hoisted himself over the lip of the frame and then helped Kairi up behind him. Nick and Judy had pried open the window, but were staring at the wall the car was about to slam into.

"I think this is our stop!" Nick quipped as Judy scrambled out of the window. He joined her, followed by the three teenagers as they all jumped clear of the wreck. Their landings were messing, rolling on their sides, but they made it at least.

The train wasn't so lucky. It slammed into the bricked off tunnel, bursting into flames. The explosion buffeted ears, fur and clothing as it ripped through the tunnel.

Sitting up, Judy spoke around catching her breath, "Maybe… maybe some of the evidence survived?" As she said it, a second explosion went off, much stronger than the first. Doors flew off hinges and a can of propane flew past them, still aflame. It exploded a beat later, making them flinch.

The silence afterward was worse, the twisted metal of the subway car flickering against the flames still raging inside.

"Everything is gone," Judy murmured, ears back, "We've lost it all."

* * *

**Notes:**

This chapter is named after the song... and also 'cause I wrote it at least six times XD But, I burned through my whole buffer trying to figure it out and I've got a lot of personal stuff going on at the moment, so it's gonna be a couple weeks before chapter 7 is up, sorry. Next chapter will be the last one in Zootopia, then we're going elsewhere! Got any guesses where?

Thanks as always for reading!


	7. Ramifications

Summary:

Zootopia part 7

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Secret Serum. Also feelings.

* * *

"Everything is gone," Judy murmured, staring down the burning wreckage of what was once a lab full of evidence. "We've lost it all."

"Yeah… " Nick replied. "Oh, except for this," he added dryly, slowly holding up the case with Night Howler serum and a pellet gun covered in hoofprints. He'd grabbed it when they'd fled the train, but Judy hadn't been able to see it tucked safely against his other side. He grinned, chuckling at his own joke and in relief at being able to salvage something.

"Oooh Nick!" Judy hollered, instantly perking up, feet drumming in excitement. "YES!" She leapt to her feet, giving him an enthusiastic punch on the arm. Behind them, Sora, Riku and Kairi cheered. The whole group scrambled upright as Judy took the case from Nick. "C'mon!" she called, "We've gotta get to the ZPD." Pointing, she took off and led them towards a flight of stairs. "Cut through the Natural History Museum!"

Nick ran at her heels, Sora not a beat behind them. Kairi and Riku brought up the rear, with Riku's ears flicking, listening.

They dashed around a landing and up another staircase, this one topped with a majestic brass sculpture of a spear-wielding mammoth. The ornate hallway beyond it was filled with scaffolding - the building was undergoing an extensive renovation. However, the workmen weren't at their posts, and the majority of the interior lights were off.

The group passed four massive stone staircases, two on each side, as they entered the main lobby. The walls were lined with dioramas, still lit from within. Blank eyes of mannequinned beasts followed them as they ran across the dusky marble floor, footsteps echoing off the surrounding stone. They were almost to the rotunda, daylight streaming in through the glass doors.

"There it is!" Judy exclaimed, ears perking up. Sora let out a whoop, pumping a fist in the air while Kairi laughed in relief.

"Judy!" a voice rang out. Instantly, the quintet skidded to a stop, ears pricked. From behind them, three sheep appeared. Two were burly rams dressed in police uniforms. The other was a short little ewe in a navy blazer and dress. Judy clearly knew her, ears perking up at her voice, but everyone else knew of her. She waved, trotting up to them.

"Mayor Bellwether," Judy called, running up to meet the sheep. The group padded over behind her. "We found out what's happening," she explained, relieved and eager to share all at once. "Someone's darting predators with a serum. That's what's making them go savage."

Bellwether clasped her hands together, beaming. "I'm so proud of you, Judy," she enthused, "You did just a super job!"

Behind Judy, Nick smiled, puffing up a little, proud to see her receive the recognition she deserved. Sora looped his hands behind his head, grinning ear to ear, but Riku was still tense, unsmiling.

Bellwether reached out for the case, and Judy moved to give it to her, still panting from their headlong sprint. But then she paused, frowning, looking at Bellwether's hands. They were outstretched, despite not being told what, exactly, Judy was holding. The officer's violet eyes flicked back up to Bellwether's face.

"How did you know where to find us?" Judy asked. Kairi shifted her weight while Sora dropped his arms. Riku bristled.

Bellwether hesitated for a moment, then darted forward. "I'll go ahead, and I'll take that case now."

Judy scrambled backwards, Nick copying her. The Keyblade wielders stepped aside, positing themselves to get in-between their friends and the sheep.

"You know what?" Judy said, tucking the case securely against her side. She and Nick kept backing up in sync. "I think Nick and I will just take this to the ZPD…" They turned, Judy trailing off as they spotted a third ram blocking the door. He menaced them, cracking his neck and snorting.

"Run," Nick and Judy said in unison, darting to the side. Keyblades appeared in hands, as Sora, Riku and Kairi dashed after them.

Bellwether clenched her fists. "Get them," she ordered, voice cold. Her rams darted forward, and heartless sprang from dark corners. They chased Nick and Judy through an archway covered in plastic sheeting. The heroes of light made to follow, but were cut off as a massive heartless rose from the floor in front of them.

Like the heartless by the lab, this creature was roughly ram shaped, except that it stood on all fours. However, it was easily double their size, and despite being a quadruped it stood a full two heads taller than Kairi. Two horns sprang from its forehead, jutting backwards, while two more curled down past its jaw, framing its large ears. Its eyes were golden, with sideways pupils. They glowed against the sanguine red of its face. An iron muzzle covered its maw, but sharpened yellow fangs were visible beyond it as it screeched at the Keyblade wielders. Darkness swirled about its body - a seething, living wool. Around its neck hung a large golden bell emblazoned with the heartless symbol.

Sora, Riku and Kairi scrambled backwards as the heartless finished emerging. Behind them, Bellwether grinned.

"Play nice with Herd Mind, now," she said in a twisted, saccharine tone of voice, "Wouldn't want it to break you." She trotted around the heartless unbothered, disappearing behind the plastic sheeting.

As soon as its master was gone, the dark creature sprang into action. It lunged forward, impossibly fast for such a large thing, head bowed, horns poised. Sora jumped backwards, nearly teetering over the edge of the large diorama sunk into the floor. He rolled sideways, avoiding being skewered, and then ducked under the creature's muzzle.

Meanwhile, Kairi was battering at Herd Mind's side, accenting her slashes and pummels with large blades of light. Though she was gouging into the darkness on the creature's side, it barely paid her any mind, not even flicking its fluffy dark cotton tail. Her blows weren't connecting to the heartless beneath the wool.

Riku had skirted around the center pit, safely out of harm's way. He circled, looking for an opening, but then spotted Sora, still penned in and dodging. Sora was struggling to get out, trying to dive under the heartless only to nearly be trampled by hooves as big as he was.

"Hey!" Riku yelled, trying to get the heartless's attention, "Over here!" He got the flick of an ear, nothing more. Sora caught another blow from the creature's muzzle on his Keyblade, the sound of metal on metal ringing through the wide space. It shook its head, smarting, but didn't give Sora any room to escape.

Riku snarled, hackles up, fangs bared. _If you're a wolf, be a wolf, _he thought. _Wolves eat sheep for breakfast__._ He opened his mouth and howled, charging forward with Braveheart at the ready.

That got the damned thing's attention. It pivoted, nearly kicking Kairi in the process, and ran to meet Riku's charge. Sora sprang away from the pit, angling his dash to meet up with Kairi, who was in pursuit.

"Sora!" she called, holding out a hand. He grinned, taking it as she used their momentum to toss him up. He landed on the heartless's back, clutching onto turbid wool.

Riku caught Herd Mind's muzzle on his Keyblade, gritting his teeth. "Fira!" he spat, rings of fire blasting out between them. The spell shoved them in opposite directions, sending Riku skidding on his feet across the marble floor. Neither he nor the heartless paused, though, charging each other again.

On the heartless's back, Sora struggled to stand, trying to get his balance against the rhythm of the creature's galloping stride. He found his feet and carefully moved forward on all fours. Standing between its shoulders, he began wailing on the ram's head, strikes swift and punishing.

Kairi was still in pursuit as Riku led the thing around the rotunda. As he harried it, Kairi continued attacking its back and legs, mindful of Sora's position. She blasted light and fire, ice and water while trying to avoid its striking hooves. Her blows only landed once she'd burned the darkened wool away.

From across the room, Nick and Judy burst out of another tarp covered archway, Bellwether's rams and several heartless in hot pursuit. Nick had the case in one hand and was supporting an injured Judy in the other. She stumbled, and a ram took the opportunity to body check them into the display in the center of the room. They landed hard, the wind driven out of them.

The force of the blow also rocketed the case from Nick's grip. It went skidding across the marble floor, where a terribly composed Bellwether picked it up. She glanced around at the Keyblade wielders menacing her heartless and the animals in the pit and smiled.

"Herd Mind, hold them," she ordered, taking the pellet gun out of its case. The heartless paused its gallop. It started shaking its head back and forth, jostling Sora and ringing its bell. As the bell tolled, Riku, Sora and Kairi felt their limbs lock as their Keyblades vanished. The reverberating sound spread through their bodies, holding them in place upright with their arms locked at their sides. Slowly, they were turned until they could all see clearly into the sunken diorama blow.

Nick and Judy were curled on their sides, propped up on their elbows. The scene was a quaint little creek, with some rocks and tall grass. A stuffed deer "drank" from the stream. Bellwether paced the side of the display, followed by her rams. The smaller heartless had vanished at the ringing of the bell.

Bellwether chuckled, the bubbly sound far too mirthful for the situation. "Well, you shoulda just stayed on the carrot farm, huh, Judy?" She quipped. "It really is too bad - I did like you," the ewe added, folding her hands contritely behind her back. Contritely aside from the weapon she still held, that is.

Judy's breath was coming fast as she glared up at her captor. "What are you going to do?" she demanded, "Kill me?"

This only made Bellwether giggle harder. "Oh, oh no, of course not!" she chortled. "He is." She fired at Nick, catching him in the neck. He yelped, the force of the shot actually knocking him over. Above them, Sora gritted his teeth, groaning as he struggled against Herd Mind's magical restraints.

"No!" Judy cried, scrambling to Nick's side, resting her paws on his back. "Oh, Nick…" she murmured as he started to grumble, shaking his head. His eyes were closed, and he didn't respond to Judy's presence at all.

From above, the three teens watched, unable to move, eyes wide with horror. Riku, held in mid-air by Herd Mind's face, tried to say something and found he couldn't work his jaw or throat. The only things he seemed to be in charge of were his breathing and his eyes. It was the same for Kairi, standing by the creature's hind legs. Sora, however, was groaning, teeth bared. He was leaning ever so slightly forward, as if he was pushing against some invisible barrier. The heartless he stood on was still, fetid breath washing over Riku's face as it waited for orders from its master.

Bellwether was still gloating. She'd upped the ante by calling the police, faking sincere distress, "Yes, police! There's a savage fox in the Natural History Museum! Officer Hopps is down, and there's a huge monster! Please Hurry!"

Nick's grumbling had increased to growls and groans. His arms shook, back arching. Desperately, Judy whispered, "No, Nick, don't do this. Fight it!"

Sora shifted another inch forward, fists clenched. He raised his arms agonizingly slowly.

"Oh, but, he can't help it, can he?" Bellwether simpered, still pacing along the pit's edge. "Since Preds are just biologically predisposed to be savages," she continued, sneering now.

Nick started snarling, opening his eyes. They were small, the pupils mere pin-points. His hackles were up, lips peeled back from glaring white fangs. Judy gasped, scrambling backwards as Nick started advancing on all fours. Her injured leg slowed her down as she stood, struggling to run.

Taking one struggling step forward, Sora started to yell. As his voice gained power, he gained momentum, pushing past whatever held him in place. He staggered forward, pace increasing, until he could jump off of Herd Mind's back. He bolted then, skittering on all fours before breaking into a two-legged sprint. Bellwether stared at him in shock as he vaulted over the edge of the display.

Nick was slowly stalking Judy, but he had one ear trained on Sora, no longer yelling. He jumped back as the other rabbit landed, hackles raised and snarling. Sora wasted no time, lunging at the fox and tackling him away from Judy.

This was not what Nick had planned. He made a good show of snapping and snarling in Sora's face while Judy ran up behind them. She grabbed Sora around his ribs, dragging him off of Nick. "Sora, you need to stop!" she ordered, but she barely got the sentence out before she had to shove Sora's head down, ducking as well. Nick had lunged, jaws snapping where their heads had been a moment ago. "Crawl!" Judy ordered, hunkering through grass until they had enough distance to run.

Sora followed her, catching her when her limp tripped her up. "Heal!" he cast, Keyblade appearing in his hand in the same heartbeat.

Thinking as she ran, Judy tossed the deer mannequin from the exhibit at Nick. He yelped, tumbling over the stuffed thing. He started shredding the deer, snarling and kicking it before rolling back onto his feet. He bit onto its throat, shaking his head viciously to "snap" its neck. Stuffing flew everywhere.

Bellwether had been shocked. No one was supposed to be able to just break Herd Mind's control like that. She recovered quickly, though. "Wow, two for the price of one!" she chirped. "Gosh," she went on, putting a hand to her cheek in mock horror, "think of the headline! 'Hero Rabbits Killed By Savage Fox!' Of course," she drawled, turning to look at Riku and Kairi, "We should probably take care of you, too." She fired off two quick rounds, catching Riku across the muzzle and then Kairi in the sternum, just above the neckline of the shirt she was wearing.

"No!" Sora shouted, unable to see his friends, but hearing the shots all the same. He skidded to a stop, ears flicking. Nick growled, hesitating. He caught Judy's eye, then looked at the teenage rabbit.

Judy grabbed Sora's arm. "Run," she ordered, pulling him with her. Head tilted upwards, she called to Bellwether. "So that's it? Prey fears predator and you stay in power?"

Bellwether shrugged, gloating, "Yeah, pretty much." She turned to her heartless. "Drop them." The strange paralysis ceased, dropping Riku from where he was held in mid-air. He managed to land upright. Kairi stumbled, but righted herself quickly, feet still firmly on the ground. They looked at each other, waiting for the serum to kick in. Riku's nose twitched. Kairi ran a finger through the blue goo on her neck.

In the pit, Nick was advancing on Sora and Judy, still snarling menacingly. They reached the exhibit wall and turned around. Sora stepped in front of Judy, Keyblade still out. He didn't raise it, though. Nick inched closer and closer. At the last second, Judy took off again, running past him and hoping Sora would follow. Nick dove for her, but Sora got there first, catching Nick across the chest on the blunt portion of his blade. Nick backed up, shaking his head as he caught his breath. Sora took off after Judy again. "Your plan won't work!" she shouted up at Bellwether, trying to get her talking again.

Above them, Riku dropped to all fours, purposefully fluffing out the fur on the back of his neck. His lips peeled back in a snarl, and he looked meaningfully at Kairi, then at Bellwether. Kairi groaned, clutching at her neck before curling forward. A snarl, deeper than even she expected, rippled out from between her lips.

Bellwether watched them, smiling a deeply satisfied smile. She turned back to the pit, looking down at Judy. "Fear always works. And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

Sora was slowing down, ears pivoting as he tried to hear what was happening with his friends. Nick snapped at his hand, and he sped up again, still keeping himself between the fox and Judy.

Riku and Kairi were stalking forward, snarling and growling like anything. Bellwether was grinning even as she tried to keep her distance from them. If things got too out of hand, there was always the massive heartless behind her. She chuckled as Riku and Kairi leapt down into the pit, "Bye-bye, bunnies."

They landed side by side, teeth bared. Sora skidded to a stop, nose twitching. "No…" he whispered, frozen.

Judy stopped a few steps after him, taking in the scene. Behind her, Nick was watching the same thing. He hesitated, then dove, pinning Judy as carefully as he could. Sora whirled at the sound, turning just in time to see Nick bite down on Judy's neck. She let out a scream and something primal in Sora snapped. He bolted on all fours, pupils pin-pricks as his eyes rolled in fear.

Riku grabbed him, doing the first thing that came to mind - he tucked him against his chest, curling protectively around him. Sora stilled, crouched, all instinct and panic in the dark space under his best friend. Kairi moved protectively in front of them as she kept up her savage act. She and Riku watched Bellwether on the edge of the pit. The sheep had flinched at the sound Judy made, but now the only thing on her face was victory.

Next to them, Judy stopped feigning death as Nick carefully lifted his teeth from her throat. "Too much?" she asked in a whisper, glancing at Riku and Sora.

"Maybe," Nick replied, equally quiet, as he helped her up.

"What?" Bellwether squawked, not understanding. She looked at her weapon, utterly baffled.

"Oh, are you looking for the serum?" Nick asked, unable to help smirking at her expression. "Well, it's right here." He pulled the little blue sphere out of his breast pocket. Behind him and Judy, Kairi stood, summoning her Keyblade. Riku stayed curled over Sora, one hand on his friend's side, feeling his breathing slow from hyperventilating to just fast. He summoned Braveheart in his other hand.

Judy took up the conversation with Bellwether, "What you had in the weapon there - those were blueberries, from my family's farm." She glanced over her shoulder at the kids, checking on them.

Nick went on, exaggerating now, needing to keep the ewe's attention. He kissed his fingertips. "Mwah! They are delicious. You should try some sometime."

Bellwether glared at him, straightening her glasses. "You think you're so clever, don't you? But you've forgotten something." She snapped her fingers, and the heartless was suddenly leaning over the pit. "Herd Mind, hold them."

The creature went to shake its bell, but Kairi got there first. Throwing herself in the air, she shot a short burst of flame under her feet, propelling her forward. Her keyblade slammed into the creature's forehead. "Lightaza!" she shrieked, putting her all into the spell. Light arced from the end of Destiny's Embrace, making the creature glow for a moment before it burst, beams of white brilliance stabbing out in all directions. The sheer brightness made everyone shield their eyes.

Kairi landed with a thump, barely catching herself on her hands and knees before she blacked out.

"Kairi!" Riku called, stuck in the pit. Sora stirred, struggling out from his grip, also murmuring Kairi's name.

Bellwether was livid. "No!" she shrieked, composure finally broken. She stomped her feet like a spoiled child, then whirled to Judy. "I framed Lionheart! I can frame you too," she hissed.

"Face it," Riku said as he vaulted over the edge of the diorama, "You've lost." Sora came up behind him, looking more himself. They both rushed to Kairi's side, Sora moving to hold her hand. Riku passed him a glowing blue vial and he carefully held it to Kairi's lips, pouring the liquid down her throat as Riku propped up her head.

Bellwether sneered, "I'm the Mayor of Zootopia - you're just some podunk carrot farmer, a cheap con-artist, and three foreign teenagers. It's my word against yours."

"Actually," Judy said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the carrot pen, "It's your word against yours." The scrabbly mechanical sound of a tape rewinding filled the air for a moment, then Bellwether's tinny, recorded voice rang out:

_"…__And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."_

Bellwether paled, turning just in time to see Chief Bogo and a full squadron of ZPD officers entering the building.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," Judy quipped.

The officers cuffed Bellwether and her accomplices almost immediately. Ladders were found and used to get Nick and Judy out of the pit. Judy and Kairi were generally fussed over (as much as anyone could get near Kairi around Riku and Sora) until the EMTs arrived and they could be taken to the local hospital. Sora and Riku rode along with Kairi, mostly because Sora refused to let go of her hand and Riku gave the antelope nurse a look so otherworldly that they dropped the issue immediately.

Judy's leg wound was, of course, completely healed. She wiggled out of the ambulance ride after the EMT's had thoroughly checked her out (at Nick's insistence). Kairi's exhaustion was treated with IVs and sleep, as well as a few more ethers of varying potency dug out from the boy's pockets. She was released the following day.

Nick and Judy delivered their report to Chief Bogo that morning, with all three Keyblade Wielders as additional witnesses. The evidence against Bellwether was substantial. Once Riku informed Chief Bogo that they would not be staying for the trial, he made sure to get their statements recorded immediately.

That took all of the morning and most of the afternoon. Nick and Judy treated them to a late lunch.

"So how did you know what was going on?" Nick asked Riku and Kairi around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Blueberry's a pretty distinct smell," Riku said dryly, one eyebrow raised.

Kairi nodded, "I thought it was weird that nothing was happening. Once Riku started acting different, it all made sense."

Sora pouted between them. "Someone could've let me know what was going on!" He protested.

Judy finished sipping her carrot cake shake. "How exactly? Bellwether was right there."

"You did a good job keeping her talking," Nick praised, elbowing her.

"You're not a bad actor yourself, slick," she quipped, smirking and elbowing him back.

Riku resisted the urge to roll his eyes, while Kairi tried not to coo over them. Sora ate his food, stuffing his face in his usual scarfing, haphazard fashion. "It was cool how you finished off that heartless, Kairi," he said, somehow understandable around all his chewing. Kairi blushed, though you couldn't see it under the fur.

Riku was less impressed. "It was risky, too," he added, tone much more mild than he felt.

"I know it wasn't smart," Kairi admitted, deflating a little. "I won't push my limits, next time."

"Hey," Judy cut in, encouraging, "At least now you know where they are."

"Yeah, now that she saved our -" Nick bit off a mild curse, seeing the look Judy was giving him, "… tails." Still, his praise made Kairi smile again.

"Your plan was brilliant," she enthused, "Sorry we messed it up a little."

Nick and Judy waved her off. "It was fine," Judy said.

"Yeah, no harm done," Nick added.

They finished their lunch among general care-free chit-chat, then spent the rest of the day relaxing and wandering around. At some point, Judy elected to buy presents for the teenagers, as a thank you. They attempted not to accept them and failed miserably.

It started with Kairi getting excited over a garden store (Judy bought her a sturdy plant with variegated leaves in a cute pot, as well as everything she would need to take care of it,) and snowballed from there. Sora ended up with several joke items from Nick, which he adored once the jokes were explained, and a keychain from Judy. It was a stylized Oasis Hotel palm tree, with the word "Zootopia" in pink bubble letters going up the trunk. He didn't tell her, but he was excited to see what it did to his Keyblade once they got back to the gummi ship. He then helped her pick out ones for Riku and Kairi - a Tundra Town one and a Rainforest District one covered in flowers respectively.

Riku got a set of tracking chips (like the kind people put on keyrings for when they lose them) from Nick. "So you can keep tabs on those two," Nick told him with a knowing nod. Riku just laughed. Judy got him a set of lenses for his phone camera.

"So when are you going home?" she asked as they strolled through downtown later that evening. Kairi was trying to decide who was better at nonchalantly slouching as they walked - Nick or Riku.

Sora, hands behind his head, replied, "Tomorrow, right Riku?"

Riku nodded, "Yeah."

"Don't suppose we'll see you again then, will we?" Nick asked, "Kiji's a pretty long ways away."

"Of course we'll come back!" Sora said, sounding almost offended. "And until we see each other again, our hearts'll be connected."

"Awww," Judy cooed exaggeratedly, hand over her heart.

Nick chuckled. "You bunnies, so emotional."

Sora tried to trip him for that, but Nick saw it coming a mile away.

* * *

It was late when the trio finally made it back to the gummi ship. Kairi claimed the bathroom first, leaving Riku and Sora to lay out the mattresses. Riku dumped them out of the closets while Sora shoved them around the room. At first, he put the beds where they usually were with his and Riku's about a foot apart on one side and Kairi's all the way on the other. When Riku came back with his arms full of blankets, Sora was shoving all three of them in the center, leaving just a little space in-between. He raised an eyebrow at Sora, but said nothing.

He didn't have to. "I thought Kairi might like it better if we were closer," Sora explained, unprompted, rubbing the back of his neck once he was done.

Riku considered him a moment, then started laying out blankets. "Did you ask her?"

"Oh," Sora deflated, fidgeting, "well, no. I'll ask her when she comes back upstairs."

"She hasn't said anything to you?" Riku pressed. He'd given them a decent chunk of time alone while Kairi was in the hospital the night before.

"About what?"

Riku shook his head. "Nothing; I just wanted to know why you thought she'd like this better."

Sora frowned at him. "Why? Are you mad at her?"

Riku looked up, surprised. "Why would I be mad at her?"

"You know, for overdoing it," Sora replied with a shrug, tucking the bottom corners of his blankets under his mattress in a vain attempt to keep them on the bed.

"I'm not angry with her," Riku said neutrally.

"But?"

He was quiet for a long time, spreading Kairi's blankets over her bed. "She scared me."

Sora hopped over to help him. "Me too," he said, voice hushed. Riku, sensing he had something else to say, stayed silent. "You all scared me," Sora finally said, stilling. "I don't know what I'd do if -"

Riku cut him off, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That won't ever happen." Seeing Sora watching him from the corners of his eyes, he added, "We caught Bellwether. They're already working on a cure."

"Xehanort's Heartless is really gone?" Sora whispered. Riku's hand tensed on his shoulder; he almost jerked it away.

"Yes," he said, tone of voice barely neutral, "He's gone."

Sora saw the look on his face, "Sorry."

Riku did drop his hand then, walking over to the pilot's chair. "You didn't do anything wrong," he said, sitting down. Sora watched him for a moment, then went to go get his stuff out of his locker.

"I'm going to call Mickey," Riku announced a moment later.

"'kay."

Kairi came upstairs as the phone rang. She looked at the beds, then at Sora. He slipped past her and wordlessly headed down the hatch. "Everything ok?" she asked Riku, padding up beside him. He was about to answer, but then Mickey picked up the phone.

"Hiya, Riku! How are ya?"

"Hey, Mickey. We're good. We found out what was causing such a disturbance in this world; it's been taken care of."

"That's swell! Great job," The King beamed at him across the video feed. Riku gave him a small smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Mickey glanced at Kairi over Riku's shoulder, and decided not to mention it. "Hello to you too, Kairi!"

She waved. "Hi, Your Majesty!"

"Gosh, you all look so different. Must be an interesting world!"

Riku chuckled, "Yeah, it is. Listen, Mickey, I was calling to see if you had something else for us to do."

Mickey tilted his head, hand on his chin, while he stared at the ceiling for a beat. "Gee, I don't think so," he finally said, "but I haven't talked to Master Yen Sid in a while."

"Should we report to him?"

"Nah," Mickey shook his head, "I think now that Xehanort's gone and Master Aqua's here, he's going back into retirement, so we shouldn't bother him too much."

"Sora wanted us to meet some of the friends he's made," Kairi interjected. "Would that be alright?"

"I think that's a great idea! Just mind the world order," he punctuated his sentence with his characteristic laugh.

"Of course," Riku agreed. Beside him, Kairi nodded.

"Oh!" Mickey said, "I almost forgot! Aqua wanted me to tell ya to call her when ya get a chance. She had some things she wanted to talk about, 'Master to Master'. Think ya could do that, pal?"

Riku nodded, "Sure. Just send me her number."

"I'll have Chip 'n Dale pass it along. I'm not very good with these gummi phones yet," he laughed again.

"No problem," Riku replied, smiling fondly. There was some noise in the background on Mickey's end. It sounded a bit like a conversation, but at a distance. The King looked back over his shoulder.

"Welp, looks like I gotta be going. It was good to talk to ya! Don't be a stranger," he added, mock stern.

"Same to you," Riku replied.

"Talk to you soon!" Kairi chimed, waving again. Mickey smiled, then disconnected the call.

Riku tucked the phone back in his pocket. He glanced at Kairi out of the corner of his eyes. She was half leaning, half sitting on the arm of the chair with her back towards him, balancing her weight on her hands. He'd seen her lean that way against walls and logs and heaven knows what else a thousand times. Living with her these last few weeks had reminded him of a lot of little things like that. It wasn't too long ago that he didn't think he'd ever see them again. Now, he guessed, she was carefully giving him space. "The beds were Sora's idea," he finally said, when it was clear she wasn't going to cave in and talk first.

Kairi looked over her shoulder at him. "Really? Did he say why?"

Riku shook his head, "Not really."

"Did you even ask him?" she said, frowning.

"Yeah, but he didn't give me a real answer."

"What did he say?" she demanded, standing to turn and cross her arms at him.

Riku kept his face neutral, "Just that he thought you might like it better."

Kairi looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so. She really didn't think Sora would have been paying that much attention. "Well… it's not like I mind," she admitted, carefully studying the floor. "It might be nice," she added, peeking back up at him.

"Doesn't matter to me," Riku said, standing and walking away from her. That made her frown. She trotted after him, grabbing his arm. He stopped walking, but didn't look at her.

"Liar," she accused, no venom behind the word. "Why are you both upset then?" she added when he didn't deny it.

Riku worked his jaw, opening and closing his mouth once. _He doesn't trust me not to be possessed again,_ he thought, but didn't say. It seemed too harsh of a sentence to say to Kairi… and he didn't want to admit how much it still stung.

"Riku…" she murmured, moving to stand in front of him, still keeping her hand on his arm. She looked so worried, he forced himself to smile.

"It's really nothing, Kairi," he lied, "We're probably just tired."

Kairi punched him on the arm, not as hard as she could but hard enough to hurt. She'd been learning from Judy. "Liar," she repeated. Turning, she walked away from him and grabbed her stuffed animals from her locker, muttering "Stupid boys" under her breath as she laid them out.

Sora came upstairs, and it was Riku's turn to wordlessly slip past him. He glanced at Riku, then at Kairi and flopped down on his bed, pulling out his phone for something to do.

Kairi could only stand the silence for so long before blurting, "You two don't have to hide things from me, you know," in a tone that was a shade and a half more harsh than she meant it to be. She was sitting on her bed, curled around a big purple monkey plush. If Sora remembered correctly, Riku had given her that for her first birthday on the Islands. It had been almost as big as she was, then. Now it was almost more grey than purple and the fur was all worn.

"What happened?" he asked, surprised at how calm his own voice sounded. He was anything but calm. His hands fidgeted with his necklace, now that he'd set down his phone.

"Riku's being Riku," she muttered, lowering her voice just in case his wolf hearing was better than her lion hearing. "Something's bothering him, but he won't tell me what."

The right-hand point of Sora's crown dug into his thumb. He pressed harder, just shy of breaking the skin. "It's Riku - who knows what he's thinking?" he muttered, also keeping quiet just in case.

"We do," Kairi insisted, "We're his best friends."

Sora moved his thumb to a different point. "We can't do anything if he won't talk to us."

"You're not sharing either," she pointed out, snuggling closer to the stuffed toy.

"What d'you mean?" He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping one arm around them. His thumb started shuffling quickly between points.

Kairi gave him a look that instantly quantified how stupid she thought that question was - seagulls asked smarter questions. Jellyfish asked smarter questions. Sora wanted to crawl back into that stupid memory egg and sleep for another year until he could ask smarter questions, or, better yet, answer smarter questions. He pressed his thumb down hard, breaking the skin without noticing.

The stupidest thing was that he couldn't even think of anything to say. He laid his chin on his knees, ears flat against his back.

"Sora?" Kairi asked as he turned his head away. "I'm sorry. That was mean." She came over and sat next to him, just barely not touching her shoulder to his shoulder. She had carried over her stuffed monkey, who was very creatively named Violet.

Sora lifted his head, giving her a small, fake smile. "It's fine, Kairi," he said. Then, lowering his chin to rest back on his knees, he stared forward and added, "I've just felt weird since yesterday. It's no big deal."

"Because of what happened?" she prodded.

"Mmh," he nodded. Then, out of nowhere he laughed, wiping roughly at the corner of his eye with the heel of his hand. "Man, Roxas is usually the gloomy one."

Kairi chuckled, a little helplessly. "Do you ever miss them?" she asked. "I used to talk to Naminé all the time…"

"It's really weird," Sora replied, "Roxas and I didn't talk a lot, and I didn't even know Ven and Xion were there. But I still get this empty feeling sometimes."

"Me too," Kairi murmured. She bumped her shoulder to his, and he looked at her again, this time with a real smile.

"I guess we could call them," he offered.

She laughed, "Yeah, we should sometime - not tonight though." Then, quieter, "It's still not the same."

Riku came back upstairs. He saw them sitting together on Sora's bed, shoulders touching, and quickly turned towards his locker, putting stuff away. Sora and Kairi fell silent at his presence.

The silence somehow got louder the longer it stretched on. Sora was fidgeting with his necklace again; Kairi was fussing with a tuft of longer hair on top of Violet's head. Riku couldn't dawdle any longer. He schooled his expression and turned off the cabin lights, laying down on his back.

"Riku?" Sora asked quietly.

Riku rolled on his side, watching them both. They all tried and failed to make any sense out of each other's expressions.

"Are you ok?" Sora ventured again, after running a dozen other sentences through his head. This one seemed the safest, the least stupid.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" Riku asked.

Kairi tapped his leg with her foot. "We know when you're upset, silly," she chided.

"Are you ok?" Riku turned the question around and pointed it at Sora.

"Yeah… no… I don't know," Sora responded, running a sheepish hand through his hair.

Riku's nose twitched. "You're bleeding," he murmured.

Sora was confused, then he looked at his hands. Rabbits, historically, do not have good night vision, and here Sora was no different. He couldn't see the blood on his thumb.

Kairi reached out and took his hand, saying, "Your thumb."

"Oh…" He looked at it for a moment, before sucking the blood off self-consciously. Riku and Kairi exchanged a look.

"So what's wrong?" Riku asked quietly. Kairi bumped her shoulder against Sora's again. He looked between the two of them, and they both tried to ignore the slight smell of fear coming off of him.

"It's stupid," Sora finally said, fiddling with the blankets under his hands. They waited. Eventually, after what felt like ten painstaking minutes but was really more like thirty seconds, he muttered, "I just know I'll sleep better if I'm by you," so quietly that they probably wouldn't have been able to catch it if it wasn't for their animal hearing.

"Me too," Kairi admitted, a firmness to her voice, "I don't like sleeping all the way over there by myself."

Riku bumped Sora's knee with his closed fist. "See? Not stupid at all."

Sora looked at him, surprised, "But you seemed mad."

Riku shook his head, asking, "Why would I be mad about this?"

"I mean… I didn't ask."

"It's fine, Sora." They dropped each other's gaze, falling into another awkward silence.

Kairi looked between the two of them, then tapped Riku's leg with her foot again. "Your turn," she ordered.

"No," Riku said flatly, patience up. He rolled back over, staring at the ceiling.

Sora frowned, then took his pillow and bopped Riku in the head with it, saying, "No fair! If I had to talk so do you."

Riku shoved the pillow off of his face. He had an entire arsenal of withering looks, and he fixed Sora with one that could shrivel a houseplant in five seconds flat. Sora completely missed it in the dark.

"C'mon!" he prodded, shoving Riku's shoulder.

"I'm fine," he insisted.

"If you don't talk, I'm going to sit on you," Kairi threatened, mock glaring. Riku rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Riku," Sora asked, eyes wide and pleading, "What's wrong?"

Riku was almost tetchy enough to think he was doing that on purpose. Almost. He sat up with a sigh, running a hand through where his hair usually was - as a wolf, it was all empty space and short fur.

"I didn't expect you of all people to doubt me, Sora," he said calmly, face slightly turned away.

"Sorry," Sora murmured, tugging at the hem of his pajama shorts. "It's just… minus Xehanort's Heartless's long speeches… going savage really wasn't all that different."

Kairi and Riku both looked at him in surprise. "Oh…" Riku murmured. It wasn't like he didn't remember that fight. He did. It had just never occurred to him how it must have looked from the other end. He hadn't really wanted to think about it. Ansem had, without hesitation, wanted to kill Sora, or at least turn him into a good-sized heartless. Riku had agreed with his single-minded goal, mostly because it carried the promise of restoring Kairi. And he had been so angry then - at Sora, at Maleficent, at himself. He hadn't cared about the consequences.

The consequences were his best friend refusing to look him in the face.

"Really?" he asked, all quiet and still as he watched Sora's face and his fidgeting hands. Sora peeked up at him, watching for a moment.

"I didn't think it would happen to you again, not the same way," Sora offered, guessing.

"Seeing us like that must have been really scary," Kairi mused, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Sora nodded. "Seeing anyone like that was scary."

"You forgave me anyway," Riku murmured.

"You're my best friend," Sora said simply, then he lifted his head and smirked, "You're not getting rid of me that easy."

Riku shook his head, but he was smiling. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. Kairi yawned, reflexively making it a long, loud, lion yawn. She put a hand over her mouth in surprise, even though this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Those always startle me," she said, getting up and climbing into her own bed. Sora wriggled under his covers as Riku laid back down.

"Good night Riku, Kairi!" he chimed.

"Good night," Riku replied.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" Kairi said cheerfully.

"I thought it was 'dream of bedbugs tonight?'" Sora asked, forgetting that Timon and Pumbaa had taught him that.

His friends just laughed at him.

That night, as all three of them slept, Sora curled up facing Riku. His covers were still on in the morning.

* * *

There was a small gathering outside the gummi ship. (Still cloaked, but now to look like a small camper rather than just invisible.) Nick and Judy had brought Clawhauser, Francine, and Chief Bogo with them to see the kids off. Everyone hugged goodbye and promised to visit soon, and then Judy ducked back into the police cruiser and pulled out a sapling. She passed it into Kairi's hands.

"I know you texted me about wanting to leave something when you go, for us to remember you by. I thought a tree might be just the thing. And I mean, this city can always use more trees," she grinned.

Kairi beamed at her. "It's perfect. Thank you." She turned, but Sora and Riku were already holding her trowel and watering can. They'd ducked out to go get them while Kairi was distracted, having been tipped off by Nick. They passed them to her. In not much time at all she'd planted the little sapling in a good sunny spot, similar to where other trees were in the lots around them.

Later, when the boys asked her about it, she said, "I just want something to follow, in case we get separated, I guess. When I see one of our trees, I'll have to remember how it got there, and where to go next." It didn't surprise Riku at all that she was worried about forgetting.

**Coda**

The room is dark, but not just shadowed - there is no light, no walls, no floor, no ceilings. Just dark. Still, somehow, figures are just visible, shadowy shapes with flickering blue highlights. One, tall, the source of the blue light, is speaking. Well, more like shouting, "The little half-pint cheated! We had a deal. His soul is mine, fair and square."

Across from them stood an older woman. Even hunched from age, her stance is proud. Curly grey hair is coiled in a top-knot above her head. Under her lip and around her biceps black tattoos swirl. She glares at the first speaker.

"He is one of _my_ people; I will go get him," she says, voice calm but brooking no argument. "You stay out of this," she adds, pointing. "I will make sure he pays what is owed." She leaves, and as she walks she stands a little straighter, then a little straighter still. Her hair turns black.

* * *

Notes:

And we're back! Sorry to deny you all a longer boss battle, but I didn't feel it would serve the chapter very well. Genuinely more upset at removing the victory toot-toots last chapter though. Much harder to feel victorious with there always being at least one ram in the lab with them.

Title this week actually does come from a song - Michael Giacchino's work is full of great puns, and the Zootopia soundtrack is no exception. I'm pretty sure that's not actually the track for this scene but... I don't care. It fit the chapter lol

Would you guys be interested in me drawing out the trio's new Keyblades from this world?

Special thanks to ShinXcrown, NightSora, and Jenmoon1 on AO3 for your enthusiasm and comments! I appreciate everyone reading this so much and really enjoy getting to interact with you. :) Thanks again and see you next week!


	8. Memory 001: Kairi

"Quit dancing around and fight already!" Lea demanded, lashing out and using the momentum to draw him in closer to Kairi. The Princess of Heart sidestepped clumsily, eyes wide. Her own Keyblade was up in a defensive position, and her stance was narrow and tense. She wove around her sparring partner, careful to keep him from getting too close, but not attempting to attack. Lea growled as he swung towards her once more, green eyes narrowing. He studied her expression as he chased after her, demanding, "How many times do I have to apologize?!"

Unable to speak through the tension in her throat, Kairi shook her head, ducking and weaving around his wild strikes. Lea hadn't completely transferred his old dancing fighting style to this new weapon, and "two weeks" (they still tried to measure time in this frozen place outside of it) into their training his awkwardness showed. Still on the defensive, Kairi parried another swing away, but didn't make use of the opening that left for her.

"Spar with me!" Lea demanded, frustrated, "What are you holding back for?"

"I-" she bit her words off with a yelp as Lea made contact with her side. The protect spells Merlin had cast on their blades made them safe and took most of the hit, but she still got knocked off balance. Before she could right herself, Lea reached out and grabbed her left wrist, dragging her in close. His eyes burned down at her, jaw clenched, and all her muscles tensed. She stopped breathing, shaking with the effort of holding still, all thought gone in the white noise of pure panic. It was so much, too much, like the last time he'd grabbed her like this.

Seeing the panic in her face, Lea let go, almost pushing himself away from her as he backed up. Kairi stayed where she stood, legs trembling like a newborn deer. Her eyes followed him as he slumped against a wall and looked at the ground, but they didn't really take in what was in front of her. She gasped, body finally making her breathe, and something about the motion snapped her back to reality. She slid into her fighting stance, keychain rattling as her arms still shook.

Lea sighed, running a hand through his hair as he dismissed his Keyblade. "So that's it, huh?" he asked quietly.

"I do forgive you," she found herself saying, equally quiet. Then her voice jumped up an octave, too harsh and too loud and cracking in the middle, "But you can't expect me not to be scared!" As she said it, she glared up at him, and he flinched as if she'd struck him.

"I really am sorry, Kairi," he said, shoulders lowering.

"I know," she breathed, but she didn't lower her blade. Her heart was pounding, and her breath came too fast. She hated to admit it, but… she was still terrified of him. No matter how hard she tried to hold her arms still, they just shook harder, and the clanking sound of shivering metal filled the silence between them.

Lea met her eyes again. He noted each flicker of panic as it crossed her face and trembled through her arms, and just barely kept himself from muttering something about "icky jobs" before summoning his weapon. "You're always going to be scared," he said, hardening his own expression as he began to circle her, "unless you do something about it."

Kairi spun to face him, pointing her blade at him, waiting for his next move. Lea kept circling, threatening, but not acting on the threat. She followed him for one full circle, then two, before her panic got the best of her and she lashed out.

"Stop it!" she yelled, slashing forward. Lea caught her swing on his own blade and cast her off easily. He smirked, and closed the circle tighter, but said nothing. "Lea!" Kairi shouted again, slashing forward once more. This time, when his blade met hers, she pressed forward for another swing, pushing him backwards and away from her.

"Now that's more like it!" Lea crowed. With a yell, Kairi kept swinging. Her attacks were wild and desperate, and she still didn't feel like she could breathe. Her vision narrowed, instinct pressing forward towards one goal - make him go away. She swung again, and again, then cast a burst of ice right at his face. Lea parried and ducked, just barely avoiding her attacks. Dancing to her left, Kairi slashed at his lanky torso, taking advantage of the extra space to strike at. Lea yelped as she got in under his guard, but he managed to dance sideways and backwards, out of her reach.

They went on like that for several minutes - Kairi fighting on panic and instinct, her body using the training they'd been drilling on for the last few "weeks" along with shots of magic that ricocheted around them. Lea danced and defended, keeping her at arm's length and goading her on as he felt he needed to. His days in the Organization had given him an ocean's worth of experience compared to her, and in her panic she wasn't exactly fighting her best. Still, her ferocity kept him at his limit to avoid her attacks, especially the wild spells hurtling from her blade.

Eventually, a burst of a blizzard spell caught him in the eye. He staggered, wiping the frost away and dropping his guard for a heartbeat. Seeing her opening, Kairi leapt, slashing downward at his shoulders. Lea barely got his guard up, but the force of her blow still brought him to one knee. Baring her teeth, lost to the fight, Kairi pulled her sword back and moved to bring it down again. Never afraid to play dirty, Lea snatched her left hand by the wrist, yanking her off balance. Her blow glanced off of his shoulder as his grip drew them close together again. Kairi skidded to a stop. Lea raised his Keyblade to her neck and stood.

"What are you going to do now, Kairi?" he sneered, glaring down at her. For a moment, Kairi froze. She stared at those burning, glaring, green eyes, heard the same weaseling, oily tone of voice. She went back to that moment of panic, when she couldn't get away. But… there was still a coating of ice alongside one of his eyes. There was still a Keyblade in her free hand. Kairi caught her breath, drew it in deep, and then slammed her blade up and into the arm that held her wrist. Lea's arm snapped up with the force, breaking his grip as well as his wrist, and knocking him off balance. Kairi used the rest of her swing to knock the blade at her throat away. Not wasting any time, she pressed forward, raining blow after blow down at her opponent. She only stopped when he yelled as she struck his broken wrist a second time.

When her vision cleared, she saw bone jutting through his skin, the sleeve of his coat pulled back so he could examine it. "Lea…" she gasped.

He shook his head at her, jaw clenched. "Curaga," he murmured, wincing as the magic did its work. Kairi flinched at the sound of bone stitching itself back together, at the tiny cry that slipped from the red-headed man, despite his best efforts. Shaking the blood off his wrist, Lea straightened. "Not bad," he praised.

The levity of his tone pissed Kairi off. Did he think this was normal? That this was ok? She'd broken his arm! She'd seen his bones, his blood. Her gaze flicked down, looking at the puddle on the floor by his feet.

Mayor's daughters didn't clean fish… and Sora and Riku had made sure she didn't need to.

Still acting more on instinct than rational thought, she stalked over to him, glaring. "You can't just grab my arm anymore!" she yelled in his face, though she wasn't exactly sure where the words even came from.

"No, I can't," he admitted simply, frown still on his face.

Kairi blinked, startled at his answer. She expected more of a fight. She'd expected him to deny it. But… it was true, wasn't it? If he tried again… she would fight him off. She might break more than his wrist next time. The thought made her back down, frowning. It felt wrong, but… she really didn't want him to do that any more. If she had to, she would be doing a lot more than just breaking bones when it came time to fight Xehanort. Maybe she needed to be ok with protecting herself, even if this was the cost. Maybe this was ok, after all.

Her stance softened as she thought, still staring at the splash of blood between them. Lea let her think, waiting for whatever she did next.

"You did that on purpose," Kairi stated, dismissing her Keyblade but glaring back up at him.

He shrugged. "What can I say? You needed to face your fear head-on," he finished with a smirk.

Kairi shook her head at him, but now she was smiling, albeit faintly. "You can't ever do that to me again."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied, straightening and dismissing his Keyblade as well.

"Couldn't even if you tried," she gloated, giddy laughter escaping her. Another hysterical giggle followed. She spun around in a circle, pumping her arms up and down in victory.

Lea smiled and slouched contentedly against the wall. "Nope. No one's kidnapping you ever again."

It was too bad that they were wrong.

* * *

When Xemnas grabbed Kairi's right arm, he bent it backwards over her head, the wrist strained to almost snapping. She instantly started struggling to get away.

"Kairi!" Sora panicked."Sora!" She yelled, straining towards him. Xemnas yanked her backwards, forcing her to bend over to ease the pain in her arm. He twisted his grip, and she gasped at the pain. His fingers dug into the space between her bones, and she knew her wrist would be swollen and bruised when she got away. Xemnas was saying something, but she wasn't paying attention. She wanted to move, wanted to swing her Keyblade and get herself out of this situation. _Fight it! Fight him!_ her brain screamed at her, but her limbs were stuck fast. Her breaths were short and shallow, she couldn't get any air, and her legs shook as they tried to hold her up in this ungainly position.

Then there was darkness, and she didn't know anything else for a long time.

* * *

The first thing she noticed was a rushing sound, rhythmic, and the faint sound of her name. The smell of salt and skin and sweat, someone holding her, the rushing sound hidden under hitching breaths and her name being repeated again and again. Hair brushing her face as the voice became more familiar and the rushing settled itself in her mind as the sound of waves. Tears on her neck and shoulder, sand under her fingers, metal from Sora's bracers digging into her back. Sunlight spilling through her eyelids as she opened them, so bright it hurt. Colors everywhere, everything white and spinning.

Breath in her lungs.

"Sora?" she tried to speak, and immediately started coughing.

He pulled himself off her, helping her sit up. "You're alive!" he said, beaming around the tears still falling from his eyes. She was wincing against the sun, clearing her throat as his hand rubbed circles on her back.

"What… what happened?" Kairi asked quietly, still marveling at breathing, at how it shouldn't feel strange and did anyway, at how she couldn't quite get the rhythm right. Sora kept rubbing her back as he tried to wipe his tears away with the other hand.

When he didn't answer, someone else knelt down on her other side, putting a hand on her shoulder. She saw silver hair and navy blue, and then eyes as green and blue and infinite as the ocean itself.

"Riku!" she choked out, remembering, now, the last thing she knew - that Xehanort was going to break her wrist and she didn't do anything about it. She wasn't sure what was worse, remembering that or that Riku was also crying.

"Sora brought you back," Riku explained, searching her face. She couldn't make any sense of the tilt of his eyebrows or the softness of his eyes, the way he was smiling but not and how things shifted and roiled on his face. "You died," he continued, so so gentle, and she was surprised at the sob that spilled out of her unwilling mouth.

Sora was there, forehead pressed against her temple. "It's ok, it's ok, Kairi," he murmured, and she leaned into him, closing her eyes against tears. "It's ok now," Sora insisted, "I brought you back. Everything's ok."

They wrapped their arms around her, and she clung to both of them, crying out the shock and pain of having a heart again.

* * *

**Notes:**

I know this was a shorter chapter but I hope you guys liked it! We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week. ;)


	9. Isn't It Lovely?

Atlantica Part 1

This is a re-write of chapter 8. If you miss the old version it can be found in a separate story titled Process Works and Deleted Chapters: I Can Only Hold On For So Long. I felt that the pacing for this world needed a big adjustment, so I took a step back, re-arranged the order of scenes I liked and added a bunch of extra stuff. Hopefully you agree that the changes were worth it!

See the end of the chapter for notes.

* * *

Sora neglected to mention that they wouldn't be underwater on their visit to Atlantica.

"What do you mean we're landing on the beach?" Riku asked from the pilot's chair. They were just entering the atmosphere, and Riku had been angling for the water when Sora had corrected him.

"We've gotta go to the castle to meet up with Ariel," the younger boy explained.

Kairi gave Sora a funny look. "I thought you said she was a mermaid?"

"Well…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "She was, but now she's a human. She and Prince Eric are in love, so her dad transformed her so they could be together."

"So we don't need the blending in spell, is what you're saying?" Riku clarified.

"Oh," Sora shook his head. "No, we don't. We're good as is."

"I was excited to be a mermaid," Kairi complained. Riku privately agreed with her.

* * *

They parked the gummi ship in a small empty cove, then walked along the beach until they reached the castle. Sora kept darting on ahead, challenging Riku to race and splashing both him and Kairi with sea foam when the opportunity presented itself.

The castle lay on the edge of the capital city. It was a grand building with white plaster facades and round red tile roofs. Many-colored flags adorned gilded posts atop almost every tower. An anchored ship with furled blue sails sat in the heart of the structure, surrounded by buildings on three sides and the open ocean on the fourth. Sora, Riku and Kairi entered through the walled courtyard to the front, striding up to the gates as if they owned the place. The guards on either side expected the trio of teenagers to stop and say something, but Sora just shoved the doors open and walked right in before they'd even had a chance to process what was happening.

Of course, they immediately scrambled to intercept them, brandishing swords. "State your business!" one guard growled. He pointed his sword meaningfully at Sora, who backed up a step but didn't lose his smile.

"We're friends of Ariel's. We came to visit her."

The other guard glowered at him. "Be respectful when speaking of the Princess!" he snapped. He'd barely gotten the sentence out when a blur of red hair and green dress rushed between them.

"Sora!" Ariel exclaimed, rushing forward and grabbing both of his hands. "It's so good to see you!" She didn't give him a chance to answer, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she peered around him. "Where are Donald and Goofy?"

Sora chuckled. "It's great to see you too, Ariel! These are my best friends, Riku and Kairi. Donald and Goofy had other stuff to take care of, so they couldn't come with me this time."

"That's a shame, but I'm so glad you finally found your other friends!" Ariel let go of his hands to first shake Riku, then Kairi's hands. "I'm Ariel. It's nice to finally meet you! Sora's told me so much about you." She grinned, elbowing the boy in question. "You're pretty much all he talks about."

Sora scowled at her for all of half a second, then they both burst out laughing, in on some sort of joke that went right over Riku and Kairi's heads.

Eric reached the group at a much calmer pace. Hearing him approach, Ariel turned around and finally noticed the guards. In a moment, she shifted from bubbly teenager to practiced monarch, straightening her stance and saying calmly, "At ease, gentlemen. These three are my guests. You may return to your posts." The guards bowed stiffly and stalked off, closing the gate behind them. Then Ariel was suddenly child-like again, dashing the few steps to Eric's side and draping herself adoringly on his arm. "Eric, you remember Sora?" she asked once they'd reached the group. "These are his friends, Riku and Kairi. This is my husband, Prince Eric."

"Of course I remember," Eric replied, letting go of Ariel's arm to shake Sora's hand. "It's great to see you again, Sora. And a pleasure to meet you too, Riku, Kairi," he added, shaking their hands as well. They smiled, greeting him in turn. Ariel looped her arm back through his as soon as he was done. He smiled fondly at her.

"Sorry we missed the wedding," Sora offered a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ariel waved him off. "It's all right," she said breezily. "I'm just glad you stopped by to see us again." Leaning in, she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Are you here on official Keybearer business?"

Riku and Kairi exchanged a look, eyebrows raised. She definitely wasn't supposed to know about that, but Sora didn't even bat an eye. He just shook his head, saying, "We mostly just came to say hi."

"Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like," Eric replied. "We're forever grateful for your help dealing with Ursula."

Sora grinned, swiping a finger under his nose. "Don't mention it."

"Has Sora told you that story?" Ariel asked, eyes bright.

"A little," Kairi replied.

"It's hard to believe she's really gone," Riku murmured absently, lost in thought for a moment. He'd hated that obnoxious sea witch.

Ariel and Eric exchanged a look. "Did you know her?" Ariel asked.

"Prince Eric stabbed her in the stomach with King Triton's trident!" Sora cut in quickly, talking over the tail end of Ariel's question to save Riku from having to answer. Riku shot him a grateful look while Eric rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Ariel chuckled at him, leaning into his side.

"How sweet!" Kairi chimed, holding her arms behind her back and smiling at the clearly besotted couple. Eric wasn't quite sure what to make of her finding life-saving violence adorable.

It was quickly decided that Ariel wanted to show the three of them her new kingdom. Eric offered to give them a tour by carriage, which they were happy to accept. Ariel was less enthused about the idea after he insisted on driving.

"I broke the front axel last time," she informed Kairi in a whisper. Kairi was privately glad that Ariel wasn't at the reins. Her first impression of the older girl wasn't the most flattering. She seemed… well, not terribly smart, if Kairi was being honest. Her uncharitable opinion was not helped by the way Sora and Ariel effortlessly ran the conversation, trading snippets of songs and wedding snafus as if they'd been close friends forever.

"So what else is new with you?" Ariel asked.

Sora shrugged, "Not much."

Riku rolled his eyes, "You know, aside from saving the worlds." His sarcastic tone made Kairi giggle.

"Oh yeah…" Sora rubbed the back of his neck again, ducking his head.

"Sora!" Ariel chastised, laughing. "That sounds pretty important! What happened?"

Sora glanced at Riku and Kairi, unsure how to answer. Riku simply raised an eyebrow, inlining his head just a little as if to say _"So… tell them about it."_ Kairi shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. Sora rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh… well, you know, just… Keyblade stuff," he muttered, shrugging and giving Ariel an unconvincing smile.

She could practically hear the sigh on Riku's face and wasn't surprised at all when he clarified.

"We stopped an evil man with oversized ambitions from achieving his goals."

"What was he trying to do?" Eric asked over his shoulder.

"Remake the worlds," Sora said quietly.

"By destroying them first," Kairi added, staring at her hands in her lap.

"You dealt with him by yourselves?" Ariel asked, concerned. They were younger than her, and most of the time she was stressed just dealing with life at court. She knew Sora was capable of great things but still… it seemed like a lot for the three of them to handle.

Sora leapt in right away, shaking his head, "Of course not! All of our friends helped - Donald and Goofy and their King, plus a bunch of others I haven't told you about. We all did it together." He spread his arms wide behind Riku and Kairi, emphasizing their teamwork, then leaned back in his seat, smiling. To his left, Riku stared at the scenery, expression telling of just how hard that task had been. On the right, Kairi wouldn't meet Ariel's eyes.

Eric glanced over his shoulder for a moment, taking in their expressions. "I'm glad you're all okay," he said sincerely. "Thank you for defending us."

"Of course," Sora replied immediately, and for a moment his smile dropped to something more grim before he picked it up again. "Riku and I did this crazy test thing too, before the big fight. He's a Master now," he bragged, elbowing the other boy.

"Sora slept through his exam," Riku snarked, smirking back at him.

"Oh, Sora!" Ariel teased, giggling.

"Congratulations, Riku," Eric added.

"We should celebrate!" Ariel offered, grinning. "Eric's been teaching me a new dance, and I could use an excuse to practice." She leaned over to Sora, adding, "It's a lot harder than I imagined when I had fins."

"Fins were a lot harder than I expected, too."

Ariel laughed. "You know none of us believed you about the water being different, right?"

"Hey! I couldn't come up with anything better," he protested.

Eric cut in, "Do you want to have a gala?" he asked, then to Ariel, "We've got that treaty signing coming up. That could work as an excuse."

"Would you want to, Riku?" she asked.

He looked at Sora and Kairi. Sora was grinning, eyes lit up, and Kairi had a wistful smile on her face. When Riku didn't answer right away, she said, "We have to celebrate together. The cake you two had at Master Yen Sid's without me doesn't count!"

"It could be fun," he admitted.

"Then let's do it!" Ariel declared. The rest of the carriage ride was spent gushing over plans. It was immediately decided that they would be knighting Riku, since they couldn't exactly list "attaining the Mark of Mastery" as the official reason behind the event.

Dealing with Ariel's heritage had been a challenge for the royal couple - they couldn't straight out say he'd married a mermaid princess. So they had come up with a fictional country for Ariel to be a part of - the island kingdom of Atlas. Official maps were made with a nonexistent island placed in the exact spot Ariel's actual home was located. She and her father coordinated trade. They prevented curious locals from traveling there by saying the island was closed off to foreigners, so no one would discover the ruse. So far, it had been working all right.

For the party, Sora, Riku and Kairi would be presented as Atlasian nobility with the knighting ceremony itself sealing a military treaty King Triton, Ariel, Eric, and Eric's counsel had been working on anyway.

The next two weeks were going to be a flurry of activity as decorations, music, entertainment, food and clothing all had to be decided on, ordered, and then prepared. None of the three teenagers had anything "proper" to wear, especially not Kairi - a fact that made her press her knees together, anxiously smoothing out her short skirt. Eric was also willing to provide etiquette lessons for the three of them, since their world's manners were certain to be different from his own.

However, before getting anything started, the couple insisted on treating their guests to a cozy dinner, warm baths, and a good night's rest. The teens swung by the gummi ship to get their stuff, then reconvened at the castle for dinner. The four-course meal seemed lavish to the three islanders, but Eric and Ariel considered it a simple affair, with the highlight of the dinner being a hearty brussels sprouts and kale dish called _Boerenkool_ and some sausage made from Eric's last hunting trip.

Following dinner, Eric went to show the boys to their rooms. Sora was placed in a suite in Ariel and Eric's wing that would one day belong to their children. For now, it was a cozy guest room for dear friends. And Riku, officially the guest of honor, was given their best suite. It was easily double the size of Sora's room, with a grand bed, intricately tiled bathroom, and a sitting room filled with plush chairs and books.

Meanwhile, Ariel guided Kairi to the castle's most luxurious bathroom.

"You can borrow some of my gowns until we get some made for you," the princess was saying, leading Kairi by the arm. "We're pretty similar in size, so it should be fine."

_Too similar_, Kairi thought traitorously. She wished her hair was lighter and long again. Ariel's brilliant locks had a volume she'd never been able to manage. Even on land they almost seemed to float around her. She felt dim and childish in comparison to the bubbly, beautiful woman beside her. Not to mention distinctly less curvy, though the difference was much greater in her mind than in reality.

The ex-mermaid was still talking. "I've got a purple dress that I think will look beautiful on you. Sora especially should like it." She winked at the younger girl. Kairi turned bright pink, eyes widening.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" she mumbled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and studying the floor as they walked.

Ariel laughed. "Oh c'mon, Kairi - I know how he feels about you," she explained, elbowing her gently. Catching Kairi's eye, she gave her a big smile. "You two are sweet."

"Thanks," Kairi replied, managing to give a small smile in return. She rubbed her right arm reflexively, hating the churning in her stomach and the heat in her ears and cheeks. Her guide watched her for a moment, then turned her attention to where they were going, humming contentedly. After a few bars, Ariel decided to pose another question.

"So Sora and Riku are Keybearers… are you one too?"

"Yes," Kairi replied instantly, looking up in slight surprise at the question. "Though I haven't been one for as long as they have."

"I always thought Sora was the only one," Ariel mused, still smiling. "He never mentioned anyone else having a Keyblade. I would've asked for one myself if I'd known!" She laughed, and Kairi found herself chuckling too.

"I don't think it's that simple. Sora's a special case. But, you don't really want to leave here now, would you? Keyblade wielders travel a lot."

"Hmmm, that's true. I couldn't really leave now that Eric and I are married. He needs my help with my father, and I do like it here. It's a whole other world to me. Still, it sounds fun."

Kairi pondered that for a moment. "Seeing new worlds is fun. All the three of us ever wanted to do was travel together. When we were younger, we built a raft, but I don't know why we thought that would get us anywhere." She chuckled behind her hand. "We were just dumb kids back then."

"Not that dumb," Ariel replied, still smiling. "That's pretty much what you three are doing now. Well, minus the raft," she added with a grin. That earned another small laugh from Kairi.

"Sora said you fight with magic too. Where did you learn?"

It was Ariel's turn to look surprised at the change of topic. "Magic runs in my family, though none of us are very good without Daddy's trident. I got a lot better running around with Sora. What magic can you use?"

"To get ready for our fight with Xehanort — that fight we were telling you about earlier — I trained with a wizard and a man named Lea who had also recently been given a Keyblade. I learned all kinds of things from both of them. Magic's actually what I'm best at," she added, self-consciously looking away and tucking her arms behind her back.

"Really? That's amazing!" Ariel gushed. "You'll have to teach me something new while you're here. And maybe I know a thing or two your wizard didn't."

"That sounds like fun," Kairi agreed. As she said it, Ariel pulled open the heavy wooden door that led to the tower bath. It was a round room lined with windows that faced the ocean. Two shallow staircases surrounded the sunken marble tub. A delicately carved stone fish fountain burbled between them, pouring steaming water into the clouds of foamy bubbles on the bath's surface. Stained glass lanterns lit the space with an amber glow, and Kairi was amazed at all the stars she could see through the windows since there was no moon tonight. They were high enough up she didn't have to worry about anyone seeing her.

"Here's soap and a towel," Ariel said, pointing to amenities on the edge of the pool. "Pull this cord and Carlotta will come and show you your room. You relax and enjoy, all right?"

"Thank you, Ariel," Kairi replied with a smile. The older girl beamed at her.

"I can't wait to get to know you better, Kairi. Get a good night's sleep okay?"

"I will," Kairi replied earnestly. "Good night!"

But when it came time to sleep, Kairi couldn't manage it. She was in the room Ariel originally stayed in when she got legs. The bed was softer than any imagined cloud, with big fluffy pillows and a warm, cozy quilt. The ocean's gentle susurrus wafted through the open windows, doing its best to lull her to rest. She'd blown out all the candles and hugged Violet and a few other stuffed animals close. Her pajamas wouldn't sit right, and even though the curtains were open, the new moon made the night oppressively dark. The creaking of the castle kept frightening her, making her sit up and clutch her necklace, right palm itching. For a split second, she thought she heard Vanitus's voice, calling to her from the beach, but she'd imagined it.

Her stomach churned as her mind kept bringing up sudden, horrible thoughts. She didn't like not knowing where the boys were, what they were doing. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw pairs of haunting yellow ones burning back at her - Saïx's, Xehanort's, Xemnas's. Her right wrist ached in remembered pain, and she kept rubbing it even though the bruises had faded away weeks ago.

_You're safe, you're safe; they're fine, it's fine. Everything's okay,_ she tried telling herself.

Unhelpfully her train of thought answered back, _But what if it's not? What if something's already gone wrong, and you're too late? Something horrible could happen and you wouldn't even know. They wouldn't even tell you._

Kairi curled up tighter around her pillow and pulled out her gummi phone. Maybe pictures or a round of Classic Kingdom games would distract her.

* * *

Riku wasn't sleeping either. Unlike Kairi, he was used to not being able to sleep and had a bit of a routine. His Keyblade was out and he was running drills, passing through forms King Mickey had taught him while they traveled together. The routine, the repetition, the movement itself calmed him.

Well, usually calmed him. Tonight it wasn't working like it normally did. Frustrated, he tried and failed to come up with a good reason why. Maybe he'd gotten too used to having Sora and Kairi next to him, safe and sound. He had made a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and cloaking himself in silence and shadows to walk over and make sure they were still breathing.

Now he didn't know which rooms they were in or how to get to them.

_They're fine_, he told himself for the millionth time. _You'd know if there was darkness here._

But it didn't help.

So, finally, he sent his Keyblade away and pulled out his phone.

_You awake?_ he texted the two of them.

* * *

Sora hadn't even bothered trying to sleep. He'd only managed to the night before because he could smell them. (Though if you asked him, he would deny that _that_was the reason.) Here, he was back to his regular human nose, and while that was mostly a good thing, he knew sleep was out of the question. So at the first opportunity he'd scrambled out of his window and gone running on the beach.

The sound of the waves and the sand under his shoes felt like home. He sprinted, full out, up and down along the shore until his lungs burned and his eyes watered. As he ran, he noticed a strange blue glow on the horizon. At first he thought it was the moon, but it wasn't round, and it wasn't in the right spot for what time it was, and that blue was not the right color for the moon here.

Whatever it was, it was really far away. He decided to ignore it, and then was irritated when he kept noticing it out of the corners of his eyes.

Finally, his aching lungs and shaking limbs forced him to stop. He pulled out his gummi phone, so he had something else to think about, since he couldn't keep running. There was a text message chain waiting for him.

Riku: _You awake?_

Kairi: _Yeah_

Kairi: _Why?_

Riku: _After yesterday I figured it was worth a shot. Where are you?_

Kairi: _I'm in the tower of the north wing, I think. Carlotta talks really quickly._

Riku: _I'm in the north wing too. Is Sora with you?_

Kairi: _No. He's not with you?_

Riku: _No. Bet you 5000 munny he's asleep._

Kairi: _I doubt that…_

Kairi: _Fine, I guess you're on!_

Riku: _Deal_

Kairi: _So why are you awake?_

Riku didn't get a chance to answer before Sora's text came through.

Sora: _Im not asleep!_

Kairi: _Yes! Riku you owe me 5000 munny!_

Riku: _Fine, fine. You two should head to my room._

Sora: _Ok where is it?_

Kairi: _Scroll up a little bit, Sora_

Sora: _I did! The north wing doesnt really tell me much other than what side of the castle its on_

Riku: _It's the room with double doors near the tower._

Kairi: _Oh, you're really close then._

Riku: _See you soon_

Sora: _Itll take me a minute - Im on the beach_

Kairi: _Why are you on the beach?_

Sora: …

He typed one reply, then deleted it. His second attempt was worse. He was at the castle by then anyway, so he pocketed his phone and took a few deep breaths before sprinting back up the building's plaster sides, through his window, and into his room. Still winded from running on the beach, he leaned against his bedroom wall, sliding down it until he was sitting on the floor. It took way longer than he would have liked before he could stand up and go find Riku's room.

* * *

Kairi had been at Riku's door before she'd even read his "See you soon" text. He'd opened it as she'd lifted her hand to knock and for a moment in the dark she'd been frightened. His eyes were hooded, and she caught a faint whiff of sweat as she passed him to step inside the room. _Probably training_, she thought and wondered why she hadn't had that idea. Lea had better luck sleeping after running drills too.

Without really speaking, they both headed through the sitting room into the bedroom. The buzz of their gummi phones receiving Sora's text made Kairi jump. Riku shot her an odd look as he pulled out his phone. When he saw her start typing, he put it away. They both stood at the foot of the bed, Kairi all the way to the left, Riku on the right.

"No response?" Riku asked after a long pause.

Kairi shook her head. "He was typing, but he must have deleted it." She glanced between Riku and the bed, then climbed on it, sitting on top of the clearly untouched blankets. Riku stayed where he stood.

He watched her as she shifted, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs to hold them in place. She glanced out the window - looking for Sora, he guessed. He tried to ignore the way her pajama shorts rucked up under her legs and the way her hair fell on her shoulders. It had grown a few inches since she'd come back. That was good. Dead people's hair didn't grow.

She felt his eyes and glanced away from the window at him. His gaze flinched away from her, so she looked down at her knees. Riku checked his phone. Still nothing from Sora.

"So you couldn't sleep either?" Kairi finally managed. Her tone was hesitant and heavy, despite her best efforts to keep it light.

"No," Riku answered simply. "What's keeping you up?"

"I don't sleep well in new places." It was most of the truth, if not all of it. She looked out the window again.

"Heh. Me neither." After a moment, he settled on the edge of the bed, folding one leg underneath him.

Kairi turned to watch him and found herself wondering for the hundredth time where he learned to be so careful and quiet. _Naminé would know_, she thought. She had no idea where the sudden conviction came from. Riku was one of the things they had avoided talking about.

He couldn't stand her silence or the questions in her eyes, so he checked his phone again.

Kairi saw his frown deepen, and his jaw tighten just a hair. "I'm sure he's fine," she said, trying to be soothing.

"Something's off about him," Riku replied, glancing back up at her. There was a test in the words - had she noticed what he had? She didn't particularly like the implication, but she was saved from answering by the sound of the door opening.

"Guys?" they heard Sora call from the dark sitting room.

"In here," Riku replied. A few seconds later Sora entered the room. Thinking fast, Riku chucked a pillow at him. "Took you long enough."

Sora caught the pillow and whipped it back, harder than Riku had. The older boy caught it one-handed, right in front of his face. Grumbling, Sora crawled onto the bed in-between his two friends and flopped on his back. Kairi watched him, and he looked away when their eyes met.

"Why were you on the beach?" she asked again.

Sora shrugged and gave her a big grin, "Just homesick, I guess."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "You're who wanted to come here."

"I wanted to come too," Kairi threw out, frowning at Riku. They stared each other down for a moment until he looked away.

"We all wanted to come. I didn't mean it like that."

Sora propped himself up on his elbows, looking between his two friends. "Everything okay?"

"Just tired," Kairi supplied. Silence settled over the bed as all three of them refused to look at each other.

Sora finally ventured, "Should we go to sleep then?"

"Here?" Riku asked.

"Why not?" Sora asked, shrugging.

Riku could think of a couple of good reasons, all of them starting and ending in places he didn't want to continue contemplating. Curling up together in the gummi ship or a vacant lot was one thing… in a castle full of staff was another. He'd caught the disapproving look Carlotta had shot at Kairi's skirt, and she hadn't been the only one. People would talk. He glanced at Kairi, hoping she would say it so he didn't have to.

Kairi wasn't having any of it. She frowned at him, throwing back the blankets and scrambling under them. Her eyes were set and stubborn and he knew arguing was pointless. Some part of his heart twinged a little, fond of her confidence and continuously marveling that she was here.

Sora watched Riku, not sure what to make of his and Kairi's silent argument. Catching Sora's eye, Riku sighed and shook his head. "Might as well," he finally said. Sora shuffled backwards until he could slide under the covers too. Riku went around blowing out the last of the candles before he climbed in next to him.

The bed was definitely not made for three people. Kairi shifted to lay on her side, facing away from the boys, and had to carefully negotiate not falling off the edge. Sora kept his arms and feet tucked in close, not wanting to bump into either of them. Next to him Riku did the same, hyper aware of the knife-blade thin space between them. But exhaustion won out over nerves. Sora fell asleep first, body practically yanking his brain under with how much he'd worn himself out. Listening to his steady breathing lulled Riku next, and Kairi wasn't far behind him.

When they were awakened in the morning, everything had shifted.

Ariel ended up being the one to wake them up. She'd gone looking for Kairi, carrying the purple dress she'd talked about letting her borrow last night. But, since Kairi wasn't in her room, it took a lot of asking the night staff if they'd seen her. Finally, one of the watchmen admitted he had seen the young women in an embarrassing state of undress heading towards Riku's room. Already mortified at the implications for their young guest, he did not mention noticing Sora walking the same way not long after. The reasoning for his cagey answers went right over Ariel's head, like most of this kingdom's rules about sex and clothes and what was appropriate for women. She simply hadn't been raised that way, and couldn't summon a good reason to care about most of it. She tolerated what she had to for Eric's sake.

Still, she wasn't expecting to see the three teenagers tangled together in Riku's bed. Kairi and Sora were facing each other, with Sora wrapped around one of Kairi's outstretched arms. His feet were folded over Riku's. The silver-haired teen had woken up at the sound of the door opening and was propped up on one elbow, tense and ready. Still, it wasn't hard to gather from where he was that he'd been curled up against Sora's back a minute ago. At least, Ariel noticed, they all appeared to still be wearing clothes.

"Sorry," she whispered, "I brought this for Kairi." She laid the dress over a chair and awkwardly backed out, glancing away from Riku's eerie stare.

In all honesty he wasn't trying to glare at her; he was barely awake.

The door shutting behind Ariel woke Kairi up. She moved to stretch, but stopped when she realized that Sora was hugging her arm. Face bright pink, she carefully extricated herself. Riku watched over his sleeping friend's shoulders, amused at the knowledge that Sora absolutely wouldn't wake up. Once she was free, Kairi grabbed her pillow and swatted him, which only made his irritating grin bigger.

"What are you laughing at?" she hissed, face still red.

"He could sleep through a hurricane," Riku answered, poking Sora's shoulder to prove his point.

"And your point is?"

"Go get dressed," he said, sliding out of the bed and into the bathroom.

_That boy was a snake in another life_, Kairi thought savagely, irritated at his grace and his bed-head free hair and the exhaustion hanging off of her shoulders and dragging down her eyelids. Still, she gathered up the purple dress and stalked back to her room. It was far heavier than clothes had any right to be, and she dreaded putting it on.

It took Kairi almost forty minutes to get into the damn purple dress. Without tags she wasn't sure which way was what, and there was just so much fabric. Then there was the matter of how stiff the silk was - she could only get into it from one direction and that was not the first or even the second way she tried. Eventually, Ariel came looking for her again. A lot of struggling and plenty of swearing later, they decided to get Carlotta to help.

Despite their apparent similarities, some alterations were necessary if Kairi was going to attend breakfast appropriately dressed. Mainly, the seams of the sleeves had to be cut open so that Kairi's arms could fit through them. She had considerably more muscle mass than the wispy erstwhile mermaid the dress had been made for. She was mortified, but Ariel insisted that it was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, she did spend a considerable amount of time swinging around a huge metal sword.

"I'll show you - let me lift it," she pressed.

"You won't be able to," Kairi stated, not talking about the Keyblade's heft. Carlotta shifted the dress on her, then started tying the strips of fabric into the neatest bows she could manage, leaving the excess to trail rather romantically behind the Princess of Heart.

Ariel wouldn't be dissuaded. "Let me try!"

Sighing, Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace. She gripped it by the blade to hold it out to Ariel handle first. Eyes alight, Ariel grasped the handle with both hands, ready for the weight. Kairi let go, and the mermaid didn't even have enough time to rebalance before the Keyblade flashed, teleporting from her hands back to Kairi's.

"That's amazing!" she enthused, still staring at her empty hands. "What spell did you use for that?"

"It's part of the Keyblade's magic, not mine. They can only be wielded by their person."

"That would have come in handy," Ariel mused, thinking that Ursula would have been much easier to deal with if the Trident had such a spell. "Oh! We're going to miss breakfast - c'mon!" She grabbed Kairi's hand and dashed from the room. The Keyblade wielder couldn't help but laugh as she tore after her.

When they reached the dining room, Ariel stopped them short, turning to smooth out Kairi's hair.

"There. Perfect," she said, grinning at the younger girl. Kairi ducked her head, blushing a little. She was suddenly very nervous about the boys' reactions. _It's just a dress_, she reminded herself. _They probably won't even notice_.

Ariel swept into the room before her, hurrying to her seat so she could see Sora and Riku's faces. When she caught Eric's eye, she gave him an over-exaggerated wink that made him smile and shake his head at her. The boys watched the door, concerned about what had taken so long.

Kairi walked in much more slowly, hesitant for reasons she still didn't understand. The black and white checkered marble was cold on her bare feet, and the sensation seemed to travel straight up her spine. She was glad the skirt hid that detail at least. She and Ariel had completely forgotten the issue of footwear until it was far too late, and they were definitely not the same size. Biting her lip, she grasped her right forearm as she made her way to her seat. The massive dining table sat in an even more massive room, and the journey to the far end where they all were eating felt like it was taking an age. She caught Sora's eye and felt her ears burn as her whole face flushed.

Stunned was a bit of an understatement for the expression on Sora's face. Somewhere in the back of his head, his train of thought was making a flatline noise. He tried to keep his eyes on Kairi's, but the dress's swooping, embroidered neckline wasn't helping. Neither was the way she was holding her arms, which pressed certain things together and up, creating a deeper cleft just barely visible above the stitched flowers and seed pearls.

Kairi didn't know what to make of how his eyes kept flicking up and down, so she decided to look at Riku instead. His face was neutral, as usual, but in a careful way. The look in his eyes was sharp and focused and hers. She felt her stomach flip and the hair on her arms stand on end and she couldn't keep holding his gaze without feeling like the dress might just burn off her. That was a thought she couldn't let continue, and at this point she'd reached her chair anyway, so she looked down and took a seat, face burning, gut churning, don't-keep-thinking-that-thought yearning.

When they were little, it had been a foregone conclusion that she and Riku would end up together. On the rare occasions she had gotten the boys to play house with her, Riku was the dad and Sora was the baby or, at his insistence, the pet monkey. (_Being the monkey's more fun! Babies can't climb trees!_) As they'd gotten older and Riku had become more distant, this dynamic had shifted. She and Sora had grown closer, and she'd wondered what she'd seen in the aloof, sharp-eyed boy who could make even the lightest comment sting. But it was easy to forget all of that when he was looking at her like this.

She was supposed to feel this way about Sora. _Only_ about Sora. She'd picked him; she liked him! So why couldn't she stop peeking at Riku out of the corners of her eyes?

They started eating in almost total silence, with all three of them barely able to swallow around the twisting butterflies in their stomachs. The air between them felt electric, like it had been laden with tiny thunder spells in advance. Under the table, Ariel gripped Eric's hand and drummed her feet, endlessly amused at the blushing teens. Eventually, though, she had mercy on them and struck up a conversation about music. This was enough distraction to fill the rest of breakfast. Following that, Eric whisked the boys off to practice dancing while Ariel and Carlotta took Kairi to her first of many dress fittings.

"That was fun," Ariel chuckled, smirking behind her hands.

"You're the worst," Kairi replied, holding back the urge to swat her. "_Ever_," she added when this failed to produce any remorse. Ariel just cackled louder.

They headed towards Ariel and Eric's suite of rooms. Their sitting room had been rearranged, with most of the seating either removed or pushed to the far corner of the room. By the bedroom door several of Ariel's gowns were hung from a coat stand, and a basket of sewing supplies was tucked unobtrusively next to it. On the cleared side stood three massive mirrors surrounding a round raised platform. Carlotta led Kairi over to it, offering her an unnecessary hand up. Equipping a cushion bristling with metal pins to her wrist, she began bustling around the young woman, pinning the purple dress she was currently wearing until it fit her much better. Kairi was uncertain of her brusque movements, but did as she was told while Ariel went to her closet to fish out more dresses. Occasionally, they'd hear a loud gasp and then she would dash back in, holding up her latest find and asking if Kairi would like it. While one or two options were full gowns, most were simpler affairs, with light skirts and normal necklines.

"What about this one?" Ariel asked, bouncing back into the room again. In her arms she carried a cream and gold dress with an overskirt, underskirt and full petticoat. Its neckline mirrored a scallop's shell, and between the full skirts and the puffed sleeves it looked massive.

Kairi tried and failed to keep her aversion off her face. "The skirt looks… heavy," she finally managed.

Ariel draped the dress over a chair, then flopped down sideways in the one next to it. "It is," she agreed, ignoring the look Carlotta was giving her. "Most of these dresses are. Clothes are so much heavier than I thought they would be."

"I never thought a dress could weigh so much," Kairi agreed.

"What you were wearing when you got here didn't look so bad."

Carlotta made a disapproving noise in the back of her throat, pinning a section of the gown's bodice with excessive force. Kairi was just glad she didn't prick her.

Ariel got the hint. "So what other worlds have you been to?"

"Oh, not that many, actually," Kairi said, glancing at the ceiling as she remembered them all. Most she would have rather forgotten. "Not nearly as many as Sora and Riku."

"What was your favorite?" Ariel pressed, shifting so that she could sit up and lean forward, eyes alight.

That required some thought. "Hmmm… probably a place called Twilight Town. It's a small world, but they have a beautiful sunset all the time. I can't wait to go back and see our friends that live there."

"Sunset all the time?" Ariel asked. "How do they sleep?"

Kairi laughed. "I don't know. I've never asked."

"Where else have you been?"

"Well, we just came from a big city called Zootopia. The citizens there are animals, but they all walk on two legs and wear clothes and do things like humans do. It took some adjusting."

"Weren't they confused by you?"

"Oh, no, I know a blending-in spell, so we were animals too. I was a lioness, Riku was a wolf, and Sora was a rabbit," She grinned, glancing over at Ariel to see her reaction. "He was tiny - he didn't even come up to my stomach… well, if you didn't count his ears."

"I wish I'd seen it! I can't even imagine how strange that would be… Why'd you pick a lioness?"

"I didn't - the spell uses the heart of the world to pick what you look like."

"Is that the same spell Sora used when he came here before?"

"Yes, but Sora doesn't know the spell. Donald did it for them."

"Of course he did," Ariel said with a grin, nodding. "I can't see Sora having the patience for that kind of magic."

"Me neither," Kairi agreed, turning at Carlotta's prodding. Satisfied, the head of house shooed the younger girl behind a screen where she carefully helped her out of the purple dress and into another of Ariel's gowns. Then, with her back in front of the mirrors, Carlotta began the fitting process all over again. Kairi felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin - holding certain positions was awkward and uncomfortable and she hated staring back at herself in a mirror. Thankfully, Ariel kept her pretty distracted with questions about the blending in spell, other magic and other worlds. Finally, the fittings were done, but they were still confined to the sitting room until Carlotta could finish a dress for Kairi to wear. So she sat with the two older women while they sewed.

"What was your home like?" Ariel asked, picking through spools of thread until she found the perfect shade of pink for the skirt in her lap.

"Destiny Islands? It's small but beautiful there. Everything's covered in trees and plants. Things there are so simple…" Kairi trailed off, staring at the intricate cornice lining the room without really seeing it.

"It sounds like a lovely place," Carlotta said soothingly. "Do you know how to sew, dear?"

Kairi shook her head. "No, ma'am, not clothes anyway," she admitted quietly.

"Here," the kindly woman leaned over, showing Kairi what she was doing. In no time, she had picked up enough to do some of the simpler alterations. Once she was settled, conversation resumed.

"I wish I could see your islands," Ariel said wistfully.

Kairi chuckled, "I wish I could see your home too! I was mad when Sora said we weren't going to get to be mermaids after all. He'd spent so long telling us about your world."

"Honestly, I miss home too. Flounder comes and talks to me sometimes, but I haven't seen Daddy and Sebastian in a long time. I even miss my sisters!" She laughed. "It would be nice to go back, just to visit."

"Couldn't your father transform you back?" Kairi asked.

"I mean, he could…" Ariel admitted, toying with the pinkie nail on one hand, "but I don't really want to ask him. I don't want him to think I regret my decision to stay here, you know?"

"That makes sense." For a moment, the girls returned their attention to their sewing. Still, Kairi couldn't quite suppress the desire to go see Ariel's home. "Ariel, what if we used the blending-in spell… on you?"

The other red-head looked up at her in surprise. "Would that work?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

"Okay, let's do it!"

Carlotta cleared her throat. "Perhaps you could do it at a different time, Princess? Our guest needs clothes to wear until the dressmaker can make her some… and lunch is in an hour. Louis's prepared something really special for your friends."

"Oh, alright," Ariel relented, but she was smiling.

* * *

Notes:

Happy belated New Year everyone! I hope 2020 and the decade to come are full of things and people you love!

To ring in the new year I wanted to post this re-dux of chapter 8. Chapter 9 will be getting a re-write as well. I really appreciate everyone's kind comments and support throughout this hiatus. There's been a slow and steady trickle of kudos, likes, and favorites across here and on AO3 and it really brightens my day that people still care about this story even though I vanished for so long. Taking some time to really sit with the story and not worry about posting has given me some fresh perspective and I think will help make it a stronger narrative over-all. However, I have decided that I have to do this at my own pace, without the pressure of a posting schedule, as much as I hate to disappoint you guys. So I'm going to be posting chapters only after I finish the following chapter. I do have a bit of a lead going right now, but I still want to make sure I know what I'm doing and don't publish stuff before it's ready. I don't want to have to do this to you guys again!

Having said that, if you're missing the original chapters or the little hiatus blurb, those can still be found in another work! I decided to make a separate "story" to put that stuff in and also give you guys some process work as well, things I wrote but won't be actually using in the story itself. I already added one new thing over there, so please go check it out and enjoy! I hope to keep updating it as I go, but I won't be purposefully writing things for it, just adding stuff I've already made as it becomes safe to give to you. No spoilers, I promise!

Finally I would like to give a shoutout to everyone who favorited or followed the story while I was gone. You all are so sweet and I want to thank each of you by name. So thank you ninjagirl99204, Skylandy, and DebraLove!

Also a big BIG thank you to CeleneTheAngel, IanAlphaAxel, || Kairi ||, and supersandy220 for leaving reviews! I always appreciate anyone taking that extra step, and especially since they all came during a hiatus.

Thanks again, Happy New Year, and see you guys soon!


	10. Stars

Atlantica part 2

This is a re-write of chapter 9. If you miss the old version it can be found in a separate story titled Process Works and Deleted Chapters: I Can Only Hold On For So Long. New version now with actual plot!

* * *

While Kairi endured her dress fittings, Eric took the boys to one of the castle's many rooms for a dance lesson. The furniture had been cleared from the room, and the rugs rolled up to reveal the polished hardwood floor. A line of mirrors on stands filled the back wall, reflecting the brilliant morning sunlight coming in the high arched windows. He spent the next hour leading them in stepping forward and back, counting out beats and practicing footwork.

Neither boy was very focused, though after this morning Eric wasn't really surprised. Sora's attention kept wandering, and he was constantly missing counts and tripping over his own feet. It was all so unbearably _slow._ Riku, on the other hand, got everything the first time it was explained. He was almost too effortless, and Eric didn't have any idea what to do with one boy who still hadn't grasped the basics and another who probably could out dance him with little effort. So he made his excuses, told them to practice, and went to go run his kingdom.

By unspoken agreement, the boys went to their own rooms. Sora had no idea what he was going to do to pass the time, but Riku had a very specific plan in mind. Chip and Dale had sent Master Aqua's phone number to him the day before, and now seemed as good a time as any to see what she wanted.

"Hello?" the voice that answered was warm, if a little uncertain. Phones were very, very new technology to the trio from the Realm of Departure.

"Hey, Master Aqua, it's Riku," the silver-haired teen settled back against a nearby wall. "Mickey said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Master Riku! Oh, I'm so glad you called. I have so many things I need to tell you."

Riku shifted weight, frowning at the title. It still sat uncomfortably on his shoulders, even though he knew he'd more than earned it. "Call me Riku," he replied, tone business-like. "What did you need?"

"Oh, in that case, please call me Aqua," she replied, soft voice sounding almost surprised. Then she continued, "Mickey told me that you've been tasked with training your friends, and I thought I could help. So much of what being a Keyblade Master means has been lost."

Riku's eyes widened as he straightened up a bit. He immediately needed to know everything. This world might be quiet, but there was no guarantee that the next one would be. They'd relied too long on strange magic and luck and dangerous powers to keep themselves alive.

"Hello?" Aqua called over the phone and he knew he'd been quiet for too long.

"Sorry, I guess I got lost in thought," he let out a half-hearted chuckle that wasn't terribly convincing. "I'd be happy to learn whatever you're willing to teach me."

"Excellent. Let's get started then. I wanted to begin with some rituals my master taught me."

They spent the next few hours running through exercises to strengthen the body and the heart - stretches and poses and forms like Mickey had taught him, meditation and history and liturgy about light and darkness. Riku sucked it up like a sponge, scribbling notes as fast as he could, constantly reminded that ignorance had cost them far too much already.

* * *

Later, after rounding up a wandering Sora, Ariel sat the three teens down in the library. There was a massive amount that went into planning a gala of this size, and she needed to know what they had in mind. It was a party for them, after all, so it made sense to give them as much control over it as she could. She walked them through choosing foods and flowers and decor, music and entertainers and all the rest. As they talked, she took notes on a scroll, occasionally crossing things off as they accomplished them. Finally, they got to the final item on her list.

"Uh, there's just one more thing and then we're done, I promise." She gave the teens a nervous smile. Kairi was sitting patiently, hands on her knees and attention focused on Ariel. Riku was also watching her, though the tilt of his head and slouch of his spine suggested impatience. Sora was staring out the window, playing with his necklace, bouncing his leg, fiddling with his bracers ad infinitum. At Ariel's pause, he glanced back over, seeing if he was missing anything.

"So, humans here have all these dumb rules about how a woman is supposed to behave, and one of those is that women have to be escorted certain places. I don't really understand why, but that's just the way it is." She shrugged, blowing her bangs out of her face with an irritated huff. "That means you three have to pick who's walking Kairi into the ball."

"Why can't I just walk in with both of them?" Kairi interjected.

Ariel bit her lip, looking down for a second before meeting the other girl's eyes. "Well, since they're not your brothers that would get a little confusing, don't you think?"

"Why?"

"Because…" Ariel trailed off, looking for the best way to explain this. "If it's family, it's different but since you're not married whoever you walk in with is your… suitor, basically? And you can't have two."

"Oh…" Kairi replied, blushing. She glanced at Sora, who was carefully trying to stare down the window and look like he didn't care. She'd never seen him go so still in her life.

Riku spoke up, "You should pick, Kairi."

"It's your party," she offered back, glancing at him out of the corners of her eyes, expression dubious.

"Then Sora should escort you in."

They both looked at Sora. His expression was just as uncertain as theirs. For half a second, Kairi was excited about the prospect of them walking in together.

Then he went and ruined it. "You sure, Riku?"

Kairi suddenly wanted to punch him.

"Of course," Riku snorted, giving him a baffled frown.

"Maybe I'll just come in by myself," Kairi muttered, folding her arms and glaring at the opposite wall. Sora lifted a hand and opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and went back to staring out the window.

Ariel gave her a sympathetic frown. "Sorry, Kairi, but you really can't do that."

Kairi huffed, thinking. She worked her jaw, clenching and unclenching, fingernails digging into her skin. Finally, she dropped her arms and spoke with a voice as tight as a coiled spring, "Then I'm walking in with both of them. I'm not picking."

Riku and Sora exchanged a look over her, both startled.

"Really?" they asked, simultaneously, which led to another quick glance between them.

Kairi's jaw was set now, her purple eyes narrowed, daring them to argue. "Yes."

Ariel opened her mouth to argue, and Kairi's gaze snapped over to her. For a second, she stared the older girl down, but then her expression softened. Dropping her head, she glanced at her hands balled up in her lap.

"That's not possible, is it?" she asked.

Ariel weighed her words carefully, "It would be a lot easier for Eric and me if you didn't… but I'm not going to make you. How you walk in is up to the three of you."

Kairi gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Ariel. I just… we started this adventure together." She glanced at both boys as she said, "I want it to stay that way."

She couldn't quite read Riku's expression as she caught his eye, but his eyebrows were furrowed like he was worried about something. Sora looked guilty.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, and as hard as she tried she couldn't hate the fact that he was worried about his friend.

She nodded. "That's what I want." They held each other's gaze for a moment, then he nodded.

"Then that's what I want too. Riku?"

The older boy considered them both. This entire visit, and especially this party, went completely against all the rules Keyblade wielders were supposed to follow. Ariel and Eric were throwing them a huge celebration, and this was the first thing they'd asked for in return. And yet, somehow, he couldn't care about any of that. The only thing that mattered were the two people sitting next to him.

"Fine by me," he said quietly.

"All right then," Ariel said, tone forcibly trying to lighten the mood. She crossed the final thing off of her list. "I think that's enough for now."

The teenagers couldn't agree more.

* * *

The three of them fled the room, walking in awkward silence first to Sora's suite a few doors down. He ducked inside while Riku and Kairi made their way back to the north wing of the castle. About halfway there, Kairi couldn't take the quiet anymore.

"That was selfish, wasn't it?"

"A little," Riku shrugged.

Kairi studied the floor.

"Sometimes it's okay to be selfish," he added, surprising her. "Sometimes your heart says something you can't ignore." They glanced at each other, and Kairi gave him a small smile. That warm, shy expression was one of his favorites of hers.

"Thanks, Riku," she said, meaning it. She earned a small smile of her own with that.

They walked quietly until they reached Riku's door. For a beat both of them hesitated, watching each other. Kairi bit her lip. Stepping forward, she gave Riku a quick hug. "Thanks again," she murmured, pulling away. She couldn't meet his eyes. "See you at dinner!" He watched her as she turned and darted away.

The last time she'd hugged him was when she'd come back from the dead.

* * *

The stairs felt like they took ages, and by the time Kairi reached her room she was exhausted. She shut the door behind her and leaned on it, staring at the ceiling with one hand clenched around her necklace. What had she just done, exactly?

She felt bad, honestly, for making such a fuss. At the same time, she stood by what she said. And she was furious at Sora… or maybe at herself? _I wish Naminé was here to talk about this…_ That gave her a new thing to feel guilty about. How could she ever _ever_ wish away Naminé's ability to be her own person? She would never want that. Still, she couldn't help missing having someone always around to talk to, someone who was always on her side. Not for the first time, she glanced at the desk in her room. Maybe writing a letter would help sort all of this chaos out. The ceiling certainly didn't have any answers.

She walked to the beautifully carved wooden desk, running her fingers over the delicate shell inlay on its surface. A quick examination of the desk's drawers revealed paper and envelopes, ink and quills, sealing wax and a blank sealing stamp. She pulled out what she needed and took a few minutes to get acquainted with the quill. She'd never written with anything other than a pen or pencil, and it took several sheets of paper just to stop dribbling ink and make letters that looked like letters. The challenge kept her mind busy, soothing out the rougher edges of her emotions.

Now, who to write to? _Not stupid Sora_, she thought suddenly, angry in a way she didn't even fully understand. She was angry at him for not wanting to escort her and angry at them leaving her behind and angry at herself for proving Sora right when he'd said that she would just get in the way.

Kairi's mind unhelpfully conjured up the memory.

She'd been so excited, talking to Sora in Traverse Town's underground waterway. They could travel together, keep each other safe, and help Riku. Sora's speech about finding a light in the darkness, about how she had saved him, made her feel like she could do anything.

Then he'd turned around and told her she couldn't come.

"I can't help?"

"You'd kind of be in my way."

She had laughed at the time. She hadn't wanted him to see how much he'd hurt her. The worst part was that everything she'd done since then seemed to prove him right. She was angry that even after _dying_ she couldn't seem to learn her lesson - immediately throwing herself into trouble in Zootopia so that the boys had to save her. Even after all her training, Xemnas had still managed to grab her, use her, to hurt Sora.

Kairi wasn't stupid. She knew she had died, and that Sora had broken some sort of rule to get her back. Actions have consequences. None of them knew what Sora's would be.

She was angry about petty things too - that Ariel was older and sweeter and prettier than her. That Sora didn't seem to have trouble dragging a mermaid into battle, but Kairi wasn't strong enough to do the same. She hated that Ariel had red hair, like hers but not, like Lea's but not. She hated that she cared at all. Ariel was married, for crying out loud. She and Eric were adorable and oh god was she jealous of that too? She was, of course she was. After everything, she'd barely gotten Sora to share a paopu with her - they'd never even kissed.

She pushed the thoughts away, gritting her teeth. _Not Riku either_, she decided after a moment. She didn't know what she would want to say to him yet, but she knew it wouldn't make any more sense then what she would have written to Sora. _Naminé? Maybe…_

_Hey Nami!_

_Miss you. Hope things are going well. I wanted to talk to you about something that's been bothering me. You remember how_

_Hi Naminé!_

_How are things going? Where are you living now? We're in Atlantica - you probably remember it from Sora's memories. The thing is, he's acting all weird and I'm _

She paused, quill hovering over the paper before she balled it up and tossed it aside._Okay, so not Naminé. _She couldn't seem to voice the thoughts churning through her heart, even in a letter she didn't plan to send. She scooted the two crumpled balls of paper farther to the side. Glancing around the room, her eyes lit on a nearby candelabra's flickering flames. _Lea_, she decided. For a moment her heart ached, missing him. They'd spent what roughly equaled a year outside of time together, training every single "day", and after all of that he felt like an older brother to her. He'd have some snarky comment to make about the whole situation, something that would make her laugh so that all this anger could go away.

_Hey Lea,_

_How's it going? This world has the stupidest rules. Would you believe that_

_Hi Lea! _

_How are you doing? How are Roxas and Xion? Did you know that_

_Hey Lea,_

_Boys are stupid and I'm even stupider and _

But these didn't work either. She crumpled the letters into balls, the last one so hard she had to chuck it across the room.

_So not writing a letter then…_

Her gaze wandered to her bedroom door. Maybe a walk would help.

* * *

Sora scrambled out of his bedroom window, intending to go swimming or walking or something along the beach. He just knew he couldn't stay still. Eventually, though, his feet took him into town. He wandered along cobbled streets and white plastered walls, ducking in and out of shops and smiling at anyone he saw. People gave him a wide berth - no one knew who he was and his clothes were foreign and strange. Still, anyone he spoke to gathered that he was friendly and harmless enough. He wound up somewhere high, having scaled a building and crossed rooftops without really noticing he was doing it. He thought it was funny, really, that he still had the urge to watch the sunset even though Roxas wasn't with him anymore, even though it wasn't even sunset yet. He sent the other boy a picture of the sky and the ocean waves, but didn't bother waiting for a response. He got back to the castle just in time for dinner, but wasn't particularly hungry. He pushed his food around his plate and tried and failed to listen to what everyone was talking about.

Eventually, they all settled on going to sleep, so he wandered to his room to change and brush his teeth. The blue glow was back, still hovering in the same spot on the horizon. He shut his curtains.

_We're sleeping in Riku's room again tonight,_ Kairi texted him. _Is that ok with you?_

_Sure, _he sent back.

_You ok?_ Kairi asked.

_Yeah im fine_

He was fine, just tired for some dumb reason. And doing everything he could not to think about this afternoon. Not that he could stop thinking about it. What was wrong with him? He hadn't meant it the way it sounded. But then again, what was so wrong with asking a simple question? There was no reason for her to get as mad as she had. But Riku had seemed to agree with her…

He was beginning to resign himself to the fact that he would never stop being a complete idiot.

When he got to Riku's room, the other two practically shooed him into bed, curling up on either side of him without touching. Riku settled with his back to Sora's, while Kairi lay facing him. Her violet eyes searched his, but neither of them said anything.

"I talked to Aqua," Riku spoke into the silence.

"Really?" Sora asked, "Why?"

Riku sat up, looking over at the other two. "Mickey said she wanted to talk to me," he explained, remembering belatedly that Sora hadn't been there for that conversation.

Kairi propped herself up on her elbow. "What did she want to talk about?" she asked.

"Keyblade stuff," he replied, then elaborated, "There's a lot of things I'm supposed to know, now that I'm a Keyblade master, but because she and the others were lost no one could teach me. And, honestly, we could all use it. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Catching up? Like what?" Sora asked, rolling onto his back and scooting somewhat upright himself.

"Almost everything," Riku admitted, "History and fighting styles, some magic and things about the Keyblade itself. Rituals Keyblade masters in the past came up with to strengthen the body and the heart too. It's a lot."

"So when are we getting started?" Kairi asked, smiling over at him.

He glanced at Sora, then quickly away again, looking off into some middle distance beyond the three of them. "We can rest for a few more days. Besides, we'll have a lot to do to help with the gala. We can start once that's calmed down."

"Right," Sora agreed, whole body relaxing as he nodded his head. Beside him, Kairi frowned between the two boys but didn't disagree. The three of them settled back down, still carefully avoiding touching. Eventually, they succumbed to sleep one by one, but none of them came by it easily.

* * *

The next day was the official appointment with the dressmaker. Kairi woke up first, quietly untangling herself from their pile and slipping out of the room unnoticed. Or at least, she thought so. Riku heard her go, but decided to feign sleep. No need for her to worry about why he was already up.

Ariel was waiting for her, along with a bespectacled man in deceptively simple clothes. He was quickly revealed to be the dressmaker and the people with him his assistants. He passed them several large folders filled with swatches of fabric and delicate sketches, the sections marked with silk ribbons. Kairi and Ariel spent ages flipping back and forth, deciding on fabrics and silhouettes, lace and bows and beading, bodices and structural garments and everything in-between. Once their choices had been recorded, the assistants brought out a raised dais for them to stand on so their measurements could be taken.

Kairi went first and found the process even more uncomfortable than alterations with Carlotta. At least the head maid was familiar, not to mention she didn't have to keep secrets from her. Having strangers guide her into position, however gently, made her fidgety and tense. The assistant with the tape tutted under his breath after measuring the circumference of her arms. When the dressmaker saw the measurement written down he remarked, "They do make them sturdy in Atlas, don't they?"

"We train both men and women to be knights in Atlas," Ariel replied demurely, expression almost disinterested, except for the glint in her eyes. "Kairi is one of my kingdom's most promising soldiers."

The dressmaker coughed awkwardly, saying, "Ah, of course. You seem suited to it, miss," in his most placating voice.

"Thank you," Kairi returned, just avoiding sounding like she was saying it through clenched teeth. Ariel caught her eye. Out of the dressmaker's line of sight, she pantomimed him, holding up her hands to represent his spectacles and miming speech with an exaggerated frown. Kairi held in a giggle.

Dropping the act, Ariel asked Kairi, "I haven't spent a lot of time on your island," she fibbed, negotiating around their necessary ruse. 'Would you tell me more about it?"

Kairi smiled at the question, but it took her a moment to answer. "It's small," she started, "But the water is clear, and the beaches are clean and white. The sky is full of seagulls, and sometimes turtles come and lay their eggs on the beach. I live with the mayor on the mainland, but there's a little island just a short boat ride away that my friends and I played on when we were kids. There's this cave that's just ours, and we've scribbled all over its walls with rocks." She smiled fondly.

"Do you still go out there?" Ariel asked, smiling as she imagined the place in her head.

"Sometimes. We haven't had a lot of chances to lately, but we did have a party with all our friends before we left."

"I bet that was fun."

"It was," Kairi agreed, but her face said otherwise. She was still thinking of the conversation she and Sora had then, and what they were celebrating. Then, when no one could find him for hours and hours, the fear that settled into her very core until finally she and Riku had thought to check the secret place. He'd curled up to sleep right under the drawing of them sharing a paopu fruit. She decided to change the subject. "It probably also feels special because I'm not technically from there."

Ariel perked up at this. "Really? I didn't know that."

Kairi nodded. "I'm from a much bigger city far away. When I was little, there was a shipwreck, and I washed up on my island's shore. For the longest time I couldn't remember anything of my past, but I got to go visit my birthplace recently, and a lot of things came back." She was fudging a couple of details, but she hoped Ariel caught the drift.

"Were they good memories?"

"Mostly, and I was really little, so it's not like there were a lot of them. I remembered how I got this necklace," she added, lifting her chin a little since she couldn't gesture to it with her arms. One assistant was measuring her shoulders from the back while another measured the length from her hips to her feet.

Those were the last two things they needed, and they said as much. So Kairi switched places with Ariel, sitting in an overstuffed chair across from her. "What's your favorite memory of home?" she asked the other red-head.

"Hmmm, that's a tough one," Ariel admitted, scrunching her face in thought. "I remember singing with my sisters a lot." Her face took on a sadder expression. "Probably memories of my mother," she said softly.

"I'm sorry all you have are memories," Kairi offered sincerely. "That's one of the few things I can't remember - who my parents were."

"That's awful; I'm so sorry, Kairi."

The Princess of Heart shook her head. "It's okay - you can't really miss them if you don't remember them, can you?" She gave a half-hearted shrug. "The Mayor's taken good care of me - I really can't complain."

"I don't know… I think you can," Ariel mused. "Everyone deserves a family."

"I have one," Kairi said right away, "Sora and Riku and Naminé and Lea - and all our friends really - those are my family."

"Maybe that's what the problem was yesterday? You know, with Sora?"

"Maybe…" she admitted, but her tone was doubtful. She decided to change the subject. "What do you and Eric do for fun?"

Ariel looked back up at the ceiling as she began to list things off, "Well, I've been learning to play a couple instruments, which is amazing. There's so much music here - I've even started composing a little myself. Not that I'm anywhere near as good as Sebastian." She laughed. "Eric's been trying to teach me to play cards, but I'm awful at them. So he goes and plays with the sailors he's friends with sometimes. I've made some friends with a few ladies here too - we go shopping and they've been teaching me things an 'educated woman' should know. It's really fun. What about you?"

"I mean, I like to make things - I'm really good at these woven bracelets from my island. They've been making them for centuries, and I like being a part of a tradition like that. I haven't been able to do much of anything lately, though. I was sent away with Lea to train for that big battle we had." She trailed off, unsure of how much to mention with all these people in the room.

"Lea is the one with hair like mine, right? Kind of like yours too, now that I think of it."

"Yep! Did Sora show you a picture of him?"

Ariel nodded. "After lunch. Those paintings were amazing! I still want to get some done before you three leave."

"I'll make sure we do," Kairi promised.

The dressmaker and his assistants were finished then. They said polite good-byes, leaving with professional haste. Ariel went and flopped in a chair next to Kairi's, sideways as she often did. With an exaggerated grumble, she kicked her fancy heeled shoes off, wiggling her toes. "I hate shoes."

Kairi laughed, shifting to sit more comfortably too. Her skirt was long enough today that she could get away with wearing her boots from the three good fairies. "So what now?" she asked.

"We wait," Ariel replied, "The suit maker will be here for the boys next."

"Did anyone tell them?" Kairi asked, concerned. With their luck, they'd both still be asleep.

Her concern was amusing to Ariel. "Carlotta woke them up in time. Did you three get much sleep last night?" She asked, grinning over her knees.

Kairi blushed. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, though she had some idea what Ariel was alluding to. Not that it made any sense to her. "Of course we did. They just like to sleep in. Well, mostly it's Sora," she added fairly. She tried to ignore the older girl as Ariel started childishly poking Kairi's arm with her big toes.

"You know, I couldn't help but notice all three of you were curled up together yesterday morning…"

"So?" Kairi dodged.

"So? Is there something more going on then just you and Sora here?"

"What?" the younger girl yelped. "What are you even talking about?"

"Well, you didn't seem to mind the attention they were _both_ giving you at breakfast," Ariel pointed out, fluffing her fingers through her hair in an almost disinterested way. "And I mean, Riku's pretty handsome…"

"Aren't you married?" Kairi quipped, frowning at her.

"You're the one who was curled up with both of them!" Ariel shot back, laughing.

"That's not - That wasn't - You're impossible!"

Ariel spread her hands innocently. "I'm just pointing out what I saw, that's all."

Kairi scowled at her. "I like Sora. Riku's just a friend," she said forcefully.

"So nothing's happening between the three of you?" Ariel prodded.

"No!" Kairi shrieked, bright red now. "What are you even hinting at? You don't think we - " She dropped the sentence, too embarrassed to continue, as her hands covered her mouth. She shook her head firmly.

Ariel cackled, trying and failing to hold in her laughter. "All right, all right! I believe you! Sorry, sorry!"

"You have to admit, though," the older girl pointed out, once her laughter had subsided, "you three sharing a bed does seem a little… fishy." Her grin widened at her pun.

Kairi sighed, folding her arms. "You're one to talk," she quipped, making Ariel giggle again. "We just… we sleep better when we're all together," she added, looking down again. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "These last two years… we've lost each other so many times. We'd just rather know that we're all okay before we go to sleep, and right when we wake up."

The smile had vanished off the mermaid's face. She leaned over, laying a comforting hand on Kairi's arm. "I'm sorry," she said, sincere. "Sora's talked non-stop about trying to find the two of you, but I never really thought about what that meant. If I lost Eric, or my friends, and I couldn't find them for years… I would never want to let them go either."

Kairi gave her a grateful smile. It was about then that Sora and Riku trailed in. The suit maker and his entourage weren't far behind, and it was Kairi and Ariel's turn to laugh as the boys endured the uncomfortable process of being measured. Then it was time for them to choose between options for fabrics and colors, silhouettes and flourishes, albeit in a much more limited palate than Kairi had to pick from. Riku made his selections quickly, but Sora relied on help from the other three. He ended up settling on an outfit that called back to both Kairi and Riku's choices, with a little bit of Sora flair thrown in.

Lunch followed those appointments, and then Ariel whisked them off in her typical exuberant fashion. They needed to book entertainers and hire craftsmen for the gala as soon as possible. She led them around the city visiting bakers and florists and jewelers, painters and musicians and so many other types of professionals it made the three teenagers' heads spin.

Everyone was happy to see them. Ariel was beloved by her new people, and it was obvious why. She knew everyone's name and their families and she was full of fascinated questions about their work. She loved being shown new projects and techniques. Her curiosity was boundless, and her subjects appreciated her genuine interest in their lives.

They were excited to meet Sora, Riku and Kairi too. No one had met anyone else from Atlas (for obvious reasons) so it was noteworthy to be introduced to the three of them. They hadn't even been in town for an hour before news of their arrival preceded them. A couple of other things preceded them too - mainly rumors about which boy Kairi was romantically involved with. As the day went on, the rumors got more specific and more contradictory, much to everyone's annoyance.

The next few days saw the Keyblade wielders passing through additional dance lessons and meetings with every kind of artisan under the sun. Ariel worked tirelessly with them to plan a lavish party in a short amount of time. Eric helped where he could, but he also had a kingdom to run. Every morning they ate breakfast with the royal couple, and every evening they curled up in Riku's bed to sleep. It was, honestly, the only way they could rest.

That didn't stop the staff from talking, and finally Eric decided something had to be done. It was a week until the party and he couldn't afford the rumors escalating once the guests began to arrive. So he took Sora and Riku horseback riding one evening.

Horses, it turned out, could be added to the list of things Sora wasn't good with. He was too fast, too loud, too much. They snorted and shied under his hands, and the grooms shooed him away when he tried to help tack up the gelding he was going to be riding.

As a rule, Eric took care of his own steed, but he'd asked the stablehands to help his two guests. Neither boy had seen a horse this close before, and were clueless as to how to prepare one to be ridden. At first, both grooms were friendly and patient. Riku took to it like a fish to water, easily befriending his dapple grey mare and impressing the older gentleman helping him.

Sora was left to lean against a stall, trying to stay out of the way.

Riding was at least a little better, though Eric constantly had to remind him, "Hands down. Quietly, you'll spook him. You don't have to pull that hard, Sora, a little goes a long way."

Even Riku was in on it, "Relax, Sora. Trust your horse."

Eventually, he sort of gave up and bumped along on the poor gelding's back, letting the horse wander where it wanted. At least once they were running, things were a little more instinctive. He knew how to hold on with his legs by then, and it wasn't that hard to move with the same rhythm as the horse. He'd ridden flying carpets and Keyblade swarms, what was so hard about this? They galloped along the beach, splashing in and out of the waves until their mounts were sweating and foam fell from their lips.

They dismounted and walked their horses back to the castle, cooling them down along the way. While they walked, Eric decided to broach a sensitive subject.

"I need to ask you both a favor," he began, once they had lapsed into silence. "Ariel is… seen as sort of… unconventional here. She doesn't have the same boundaries as people in my kingdom and, unfortunately, that means a lot of my court looks down on her."

"What can we do to help?" Sora immediately asked.

Eric gave him a considering look. "We've been working hard to repair her kingdom's reputation, and with this gala you'll be representing her, in a way. I know you three are close, and I don't really care what you do in private, but could you maybe keep to your own rooms once our guests are here? The staff are already starting to talk about where you've been sleeping."

Riku immediately understood and turned faintly red. Sora looked between him and Eric, completely lost.

"Huh?" he asked. "What about where we've been sleeping?"

"Sora," Riku began, trying to explain around the lump of embarrassment in his throat, "what else do people do in a bed?"

"So? What does that have to do with…" Sora's brain caught up with his mouth and he turned bright red. "Oh… we weren't - we didn't - it wasn't like that!" he sputtered.

Eric laughed. "I don't care if it was. Wouldn't be the strangest arrangement I'd heard of. Sailors can get very… explicit," he added by way of explanation, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't need anything to make Ariel's reputation worse. So would you both… you know… stick to your own rooms once it's time for the gala?"

"Of course," Riku said immediately, face still faintly flushed, though he did manage to meet Eric's eyes. "It really isn't anything like that."

Eric shrugged. "Like I said, I don't care if it is or it isn't. That's your business."

Sora was too busy reeling to say anything at all.

* * *

They made it back to the castle and Sora immediately vanished, mumbling an excuse neither Eric nor Riku quite caught. A groom took care of his horse, while Eric and Riku tended to their own. Eric finished first, and wandered around to see Riku carefully currying sweat and salt out of the mare's coat.

"You know, if I could, I'd let you take her," he said, leaning against the open stall door frame.

"Don't really have anywhere to keep a horse," Riku replied, not looking up.

"I thought as much. Still, she really likes you. You're a natural."

Riku glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. The prince seemed sincere. "Thanks," Riku replied.

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you earlier," Eric went on.

"It's not a big deal."

"Still, I appreciate your understanding."

"If there's something you came to talk to me about, you might as well get it out now," Riku replied, somewhat impatiently.

Eric sighed and walked into the stall, stopping to stand by Riku and stroke the mare's nose. "You know, I wouldn't judge the three of you if that is what was happening," he offered.

"Doesn't matter - it isn't," Riku replied flatly, returning to currying the mare.

"I had an uncle who got up to a lot stranger things than that," Eric offered, "Then there are all the rumors about the Countess of the Eastern Isle. I spent way too much time listening to maids and sailors as a kid," he laughed. "So long as you three are happy, there's nothing wrong with it."

It took a moment for what he was saying to sink in, and when it did, it was like a hatch at the bottom of Riku's skull opened up and all rational thought fell out through it. His whole world tilted on its axis, going sideways and upside-down like a room in Wonderland. The three of them? That was actually possible? The thought was so tantalizing and strange that he couldn't really wrap his mind around it. He looked at Eric, eyebrows furrowed.

Eric held up his hands, misreading the expression. "If that's really not what's happening, that's all right too! I just didn't want you to think Ariel or I thought less of the three of you."

"Oh…" Riku replied, staring back down at his hands. He started to brush the horse again, curry moving in sweeping circles over her short coat. "Do you know anyone else like that?" he heard himself asking. It felt like he was far away, hearing his own voice at a distance.

"Not for sure," Eric admitted, "but there are a lot of rumors about that Countess, Lady Sarahfina, her husband and one of their heads of staff. I take it this isn't common on your world either, is it?"

Riku shook his head. "No. I've never even heard of it before."

"Well," Eric rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "you're lucky to have found them both. Love's hard enough to find one time, let alone twice."

"We're just friends" Riku corrected quietly, studying the delicate splotches of the mare's coat.

"Oh, sorry. I really need to stop assuming things."

"It's all right. Just, let me talk to Kairi about it, okay?"

"Of course. I'll leave you to it." With an awkward nod, Eric scuttled out of the stall, clearly embarrassed about the whole conversation. Riku stayed there a long time, brushing and petting the mare while she shuffled around. Eventually, though, he had to go back for dinner.

* * *

Sora took off as soon as the groom took his horse from him. His chest felt tight, like something was squeezing it and he couldn't keep still. He knew he couldn't keep up a smile, so he went looking for somewhere without people and found himself back on the shoreline.

Prince Eric thought they were -

He couldn't even really finish the thought. Thought they were what exactly? All three of them? How did that even work? He didn't want to know.

Okay, actually, he really really did want to know and how badly he wanted to know scared him so much he couldn't even think about it at all.

So Sora went running.

He ran up and down along the shore at a full on sprint, chasing the sound of the waves. The pace forced him to keep breathing, which suddenly was harder than it should have been. He stared out at the water and tried to pretend he was home with Riku and Kairi and that everything was back to normal and that he didn't have these stupid questions rattling around his skull.

Home, it turned out, wasn't a safe thing to think about either. Thoughts of school and the look on his mother's face as she begged him not to leave tumbled through his mind. Sora ran harder, pushing himself until his lungs burned and his eye watered. Even then he didn't stop; it wasn't enough. If he just kept moving maybe all the thoughts would fall right out of the back of his head and he could be himself again. Maybe he could stop thinking about kissing Riku the way he'd been thinking about kissing Kairi.

God, Kairi - what would she even think about this? About the three of them? Wouldn't she just feel betrayed if she knew how he felt about Riku? It was cheating, wasn't it? They weren't officially anything but…

He remembered Riku, standing bravely in the realm of darkness, saying "Take care of her." Then, it had been a promise and an apology and an acquiescence. Now it felt more like an admonishment.

"Take care of her." If Riku wasn't there, Sora would have to be. In a way, he'd been stepping down, away from the roles they'd always taken as kids where he was protector and provider, a solid rock in Kairi's world. Sora had to be that for her now.

It wasn't hard to picture the disgusted look Riku would give him if he voiced this weird desire now.

Sora's mind drifted back over their drawings in the cave and sharing a paopu with Kairi. Bittersweet, like the fruit itself, juice dripping down their chins. He would do anything in the worlds for her. He had done something quite outside the worlds to bring her back. And now he was going to throw it all away? Forget that.

Though, now that he was thinking about it, this did make a few things make more sense. A couple of dreams, for example and why he couldn't stop thinking about seeing Riku shirtless. The smell thing, too. Riku and Kairi had both smelled so good… but thinking about that too hard made him loop back around to what a faithless, greedy moron he was. Why couldn't he just be happy with what he had?

So Sora ran until he threw up.

It surprised him, forcing him to skid to a stop as he doubled over. He vomited out all of the food he'd eaten that day and then some, dry heaving until he wanted to scream with how raw his throat was. Finally, he managed to get enough air to stop. He rinsed his mouth out with salt water - careful not to swallow - and slowly rose to his feet. At least the waves would wash the mess away before someone found it.

The sun was low, dying everything red and orange and oh crap he probably missed dinner. He dug through his pockets for an elixir, then remembered that he'd borrowed these pants from Eric and there wasn't anything in their insignificant pockets. Taking a few steadying breaths, he started jogging back to the castle, gait shambly and hitched with exhaustion.

* * *

Miraculously, they were just sitting down to eat when Sora stumbled in, shirt changed and the fringes of his hair still a little damp from hastily washing his face. (Carlotta insisted.) He slipped into the chair on Kairi's right and tried not to look too suspicious even as his fingers drummed on the handles of his silverware and he itched his ankle with his other foot.

Kairi took in the ashy tone on his face and the furrow between his eyes and they way he wouldn't quite look at them and immediately turned to Riku to see if he knew what was going on. Riku wouldn't meet her eyes either, and he wore an expression she hadn't seen since he'd been trapped in a body that wasn't his - like he'd just as easily not exist if he could figure out how to manage it. She reached under the table and caught both of their hands, squeezing tight until they looked at her. She gave them each a reassuring smile, squeezing again and refusing to let go. Sora's palm was clammy, and Riku held very, very still as if he was afraid to touch her.

After a very quiet dinner they all met back up at Riku's rooms. No one was quite brave enough to walk towards the bedroom, so they ended up in his sitting room. Kairi tucked herself in a chair while Riku stood against a wall and Sora perched on the edge of the thick wooden desk.

"What happened while you were with Eric?" Kairi asked straight away. At that question, neither boy was willing to look at her, faces as good as confirming that something was up. But Kairi was patient, and she knew her best friends.

Finally, Riku spoke, "He asked that we not spend time in each other's rooms while the guests are here. He doesn't want people getting the wrong idea, for Ariel's sake." He was impressed that he kept his voice level, since he would have rather pulled out his own teeth than admitted what the prince had talked to them about that day. At least Sora hadn't been around for the worst of it.

Kairi took a second to process exactly what he had just said, then her face flushed. "Oh… Ariel teased me about that too, but she didn't say anything about us not… about it not happening again."

"From what he told me, it's not exactly unheard of on this world," Riku supplied, blank expression fraying at the corners of his eyes and the tension in his jaw.

"He talked to you about it again?" Sora asked, tone dull enough to make both Kairi and Riku shoot him a worried look.

"A little," Riku supplied.

Kairi tried to salvage the conversation, "Well, I mean, at least that's something we can do. It shouldn't be that hard." She was lying, and not even lying well, but no one called her out on it.

Riku decided to test the waters, "They didn't seem to think it was a bad thing, on its own."

"But we can't make Ariel look bad," Sora insisted, loyalty flaring, hands tightening on the edge of the desk.

"Of course not," Riku replied immediately, "I just thought it was strange."

Kairi forced a giggle, covering her mouth, "It is a little bit funny, that they thought we'd be…" She trailed off meaningfully, gesturing vaguely in front of herself.

Sora shrugged, feigning nonchalance by lacing his fingers behind his head. "I think I liked Atlantica better..." He muttered, staring at the ceiling.

"We're not even that old!" Kairi pointed out, ignoring Sora's comment by virtue of not really being able to hear it.

"Ariel's only a year older than Riku, and she's been married for awhile now," Sora replied.

"Less than a year," RIku interjected.

"Does that matter?" Sora fired back, dropping his hands and leaning forward. "She's still… They've still… whatever. Let's talk about something else," he added hastily.

That was preferable for Kairi and Riku too, but suddenly there didn't seem to be anything else to talk about. Silence thickened between the three of them as Sora drummed the desk and Kairi bit her lip and Riku leaned against a wall, staring at the ceiling.

"We're idiots," he said finally.

"Hey! Speak for yourself," Sora demanded. He sounded like he was defending himself, but he'd actually been thinking about Kairi.

Riku shoved off the wall with one shoulder. "I mean, we should have realized that people would talk. It's not like this castle's empty. I should have thought about what it would look like."

"You couldn't have known," Kairi said right away, soothing.

"This isn't Zootopia, or home, where people are just used to us."

His tone made Sora flinch. "Riku…"

"What?" Riku snapped, harsher than he meant to. He seemed to know it too, eyes widening in surprise. Exhaling, he ran a hand through his hair and looked down. "Sorry."

"We're all… embarrassed," Sora offered, "but it's not your fault."

"It was my idea."

"We all agreed to it," Kairi argued.

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "So we'll take the blame together."

Riku glanced between the two of them, then cracked a small smirk. "You two'll be sneaking off on your own soon."

"What?!" Sora yelped, jerking backwards in embarrassment and unbalancing himself to the point where he nearly fell off of the desk.

Kairi laughed, but she was blushing.

Laughing, Riku shook his head. "C'mon, we should get some sleep." He turned and headed towards his bedroom, but then stopped, and glanced over his shoulder at the two of them. Kairi was fiddling with her necklace again, eyebrows furrowed. Sora was staring at the floor, knuckles white against the desk.

Kairi looked up and caught Riku's eyes. "What do you think we should do, Riku?"

"We need sleep," he pointed out.

"But…" Sora interjected, unable to finish the sentence.

"The guests aren't here yet," Riku replied, a knife blade edge hidden under the ice calm of his voice.

"Shouldn't we try to learn to sleep by ourselves then, before they get here?" Kairi asked. Riku merely shrugged. Sora looked between the two of them, but didn't know what to say.

"Tomorrow," Riku finally uttered, tone soft. There was no knife edge here, just the faintest hint of pleading, but it tugged something in his friends' hearts all the same.

"Okay," Sora replied, getting up. Kairi followed suit. When she reached each boy, she took their hands and held on tight.

* * *

That night, they drew the heavy canopy around the bed and tied it closed. The darkness settled around them, total and oddly frightening, despite the lack of any real threat.

"Here," Kairi murmured, whisper quiet, and a tiny pearl of light bloomed in her cupped hands. She reached up, sticking it to the top of the canopy. She had to focus a bit to make it stick.

Sora, grinning, cupped his hands together and tried to do the same. It took ages - Kairi made nine more little orbs in the same span of time - but finally a ball of light appeared once he whispered, "Pearl," thinking of Queen Minnie's magic. Kairi had to teach him how to stick it on, and Sora had to use a spoken word to do it right, but it stayed up too.

They started coating the whole perimeter with lights, changing their size and position until they swooped and swirled like strings of beads spaced apart on a necklace.

"Like Christmas lights!" Sora enthused, smiling so his teeth flashed in the glow. "Come on, Riku! Make some with us!"

Riku shook his head, "Nah, I'm fine."

"Why not?" Sora asked, frowning.

"I don't think I can," Riku replied, seemingly unbothered.

Kairi frowned, murmuring, "No, I think you can." She turned to face him and took both of his hands in hers. "You can do it - just focus," she insisted, smiling gently at him.

Riku's heart had just enough time to falter at the look in her eyes before Sora elbowed him in the gut.

"Yeah c'mon, Riku!"

So with a long-suffering sigh, he tried. It didn't take long before a sphere of light appeared in his palms. He was so surprised, it snuffed itself out right away and it took three whole tries to get it back. But once he did, it was easy and soon he was making dimmer stars and sticking them to the canopy ceiling in the shapes of constellations from home. Kairi decided she liked that better and started dimming hers and adding them up there with Riku's. Sora couldn't manage it, but he gathered all of his up into one bigger ball (no more than the size of his fist) and plopped it in the center.

"I made the moon," he explained, grinning. It was a bit too bright still, so Riku made scudding little clouds of darkness that passed over its surface.

"It's perfect," Kairi whispered, face aglow. The boys had to agree. They curled up, still carefully not touching, with Riku in the middle.

"Good night," Kairi murmured, and the boys echoed it back to her. They fell asleep dreaming of home.

* * *

Notes:

And here is chapter 9! Again, if you miss the original version it can be found in a seperate work.

Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all soon! ^_^


	11. Slash and Slash

Atlantica part 3

Slash Dance Revolution

* * *

The next morning, Kairi opened her eyes to find Riku already awake. He was staring up at their sky full of stars. On Sora's moon, the little clouds of darkness were swirling about, dancing to something Kairi couldn't fathom. For a little while, she watched his teal eyes follow their shapes, wondering how anyone could be so close and feel so far away all at once.

"You're awake," he said after a while, not looking at her.

She almost felt like a child getting scolded, even though his tone was neutral. But she resisted the urge to duck her head and play asleep. Propping herself up, she replied, "How long have you been up?" She kept her voice quiet, mindful of Sora on Riku's other side.

"Awhile," he said, voice shrugging hard enough that his shoulders didn't even have to move. He didn't say more.

"What were you thinking about?"

He closed his eyes and inhaled, forcibly keeping his jaw from clenching. _We shouldn't even be here right now. A real Master would have already started waking them up at dawn to train every morning. A real Master wouldn't have even let this situation with where they were sleeping happen in the first place. _

Instead, he'd been selfish and lazy, and it could get either one of them killed.

Riku opened his eyes. "What we're doing today," he answered, voice mild.

Kairi watched his face, trying to suss out what that even meant, but she came up empty. "We've got dance lessons tonight, but otherwise Ariel said we have the day to ourselves."

"Good," he replied, and for the first time that morning, he glanced at her. The clouds on the moon stilled. "We're training today."

She grinned, "I'm excited."

He sat up, climbing out of the blankets and scooting around Sora's splayed out legs to the edge of the bed. "Don't expect it to be easy," he said over his shoulder.

"It wouldn't be training if it was," Kairi replied, just getting the words out before he slipped through the canopy. After nudging Sora awake, she climbed out her own side and went back to her room.

* * *

After breakfast, Riku gathered them in one of the castle's courtyards. It was an open lawn of fresh green grass, with a low tiled wall facing the ocean and a row of colonnades along the opposite side. All three of them were in the clothes provided by the three Good Fairies. They collected in a rough triangle in the center of the lawn.

Sora yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "What are we doing out here again?"

"Training," Riku replied. "Remember?"

"Oh, right. You're going to teach us what Aqua told you about."

"That's Master Aqua to you," Riku said sternly. "And while we're out here, you'll address me as Master Riku." He locked eyes with each of them until he got a nod. Sora took it up a notch and saluted. Riku frowned, but he didn't correct him.

Kairi grinned, tucking her arms behind her back. "So what are we learning today, _Master_ Riku?" she asked, putting a teasing lilt on his title.

"Before we learn anything," he said, tone sharp enough that it wiped the grin off her face, "I need to know what we're working with. So you two are going to spar, and I'm going to watch you. No magic, and don't hold anything back. We have to be prepared for whatever threatens the worlds next."

"Why can't we use magic?" Sora asked, just barely beating Kairi to the question.

"Because magic runs out," Riku answered, folding his arms. "You only have so much energy. I want to know how you fight without it."

Kairi bit her lip, shifting her weight. Magic had been the focus of her training with Merlin. His philosophy was brains over brawn. Even Lea had insisted she lean into her magical abilities.

_"If it comes down to it, you're not going to beat anyone head on. Get in, get out, get it done. You're not that strong, so you've got to be smart and fast, got it memorized?"_

She needed to prove herself here, but without her magic what chance did she have?

"Keyblades out," RIku ordered. When his friends complied, he summoned his own, using it to wrap each blade in a protection spell. This would prevent them from inflicting any serious injuries on one another.

At Riku's bidding, Sora and Kairi walked to opposite ends of the courtyard. Sora fiddled with his necklace as he walked. He'd never even thought about fighting Kairi before. He didn't want to fight her - what if he hurt her? Or worse, lost to her? He'd never be able to look either of them in the eyes again. He'd spent his whole life trying and failing to measure up to Riku. He was happy that his friend was a Keyblade Master. He'd never been so proud of anyone ever. But that didn't mean he hadn't lain awake at night, chewing himself out for failing his own test.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ he thought, turning to face Kairi. She slid into a fighting stance, holding Destiny's Embrace with both hands. He watched her for a beat, then did the same.

Kairi took a deep breath in through her nose, using her diaphragm like Lea had taught her. If she was going to succeed, she had to use everything she knew.

She crouched, circling to her left, violet gaze locked on Sora. _In through your nose,_ she thought, breathing in, _down to your stomach. Out through your mouth. Repeat._ She wasn't sure she could win, but she hadn't thought she would ever beat Lea before, either.

Sora charged straight at her, but not at full speed. Kairi had fought alongside him enough to know he was holding back, and it pissed her off. She kept circling along the arc she'd already started, but faster now, racing to get behind him and hit his back. Sora swerved with her, picking up his pace. Kairi waited till he got close, then jumped, slicing at his head as she flipped over him. He rolled, barely ducking under her attack. She landed, and they both turned to face each other again. Sora didn't hesitate this time, charging her once more. Kairi stayed still, catching his swing on her blade. She intended to push his blade up, then kick his legs out from under him, but as soon as their Keyblades clanged together he jumped backwards.

"What are you doing?" Kairi growled, charging forward. She moved fast, slashing once, twice, three times. Each time, Sora smacked her sword away, but kept retreating.

He frowned at her. "Uh… sparring?" He planted his left foot and pivoted, trying to side-step out of her line of attack. Kairi saw him do it and flipped easily over his head, swinging for his ribs once she was behind him.

"Quit holding back!" She snapped as he just barely caught her attack on the Kingdom Key. Twisted awkwardly, he turned until he could shove back against her with both hands.

"I'm not!" he protested, forcing her backwards and breaking their lock.

Kairi dropped low, not even bothering to give that a response, then kicked his ankles out from under him. He caught himself with a clumsy sideways roll and when he straightened she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Just in time, he looked up. Kairi had leapt into the air to dive at him, Keyblade in mid-swing at his head. Sora just barely got out of the way. She hit the ground instead, but with enough force to dig into the earth, dirt flying around them. The ricochet made it hard for Sora to get to his feet. She wasn't about to give him that chance, either, swiping at him once, twice. The second swing caught him in the right hip. The protection spells blunted the blow, but it still knocked him off of his feet entirely.

"You are!" Kairi insisted, bringing another blow down at his shoulder. He managed to block that one, shoving her off and regaining his feet with a wordless yell.

Darting sideways, now at full speed, he shouted, "Just remember, you asked for it!" Practically a blur, he threw himself at a nearby column, spinning around it to gain more momentum. He caught Kairi in the shoulder as he flew past her, then shoved off the wall and barreled into her again, knocking her backwards. The third time she jumped out of the way, and for awhile she stuck to that, leaping out of reach of every dart and lunge.

"Now who's holding back?" he quipped. He dashed at her again, but this time she leapt straight up instead of sideways.

"Not me!" Kairi called, throwing herself at him. Her words morphed into a yell as she plummeted down, aiming not for where he currently was but for where she knew he would be. Destiny's Embrace collided with his back, knocking him to the ground. He bounced once, then scrambled upright. Kairi was running at him, Keyblade up and ready.

Sora opted to spin out of her way, darting sideways, but she followed him. Keyblade outstretched, she hurled towards him like a top with teeth. He just caught her attack on the Kingdom Key, but her momentum nearly ripped it out of his hands. He dropped to one knee, ducking under the force. Destiny's Embrace cut over his head with a whoosh, and he slammed the Kingdom Key up into it, trying to rip the blade out of Kairi's hands. She leapt with it, refusing to let go. But she hadn't planned for the jump, and her landing was sloppy. Sora was at her back, swinging, and he knocked her forward.

She twisted on her knees, catching his next strike. He kept hammering, yelling with the force of each swing, trying to get her to yield. Kairi locked eyes with him, holding her Keyblade up with both hands. Her lips parted in a snarl as she struggled to get her feet under her. Slowly, slowly, she twisted first one foot, then the other until she was crouched on the ground, weapon above her head. Her arms ached, and she could tell Sora was nowhere near tired. Their eyes were still locked.

At the same moment, they moved - Kairi swung out a leg, trying to kick Sora's out from under him. He wasn't there, though. He'd leapt backwards, Keyblade in the air. With a motion almost too quick to catch, he swapped out the keychain on his sword. In a burst of light, it transformed, but Kairi didn't have time to take in its new appearance. With a laugh, Sora held it aloft. She caught sight of some of the red blade before it flared brightly again, morphing into a glider. He hopped on board, riding the handle like a surfboard and circling Kairi once before flipping off of it. The Keybalde transformed again, this time into a long red and black blade of a much more traditional sword shape. Kairi braced herself, glaring.

"Let's finish this!" Sora called, and she realized his whole outfit had changed, taking on greens and grey-yellows where red had been. She stepped forward, charging to meet him, but didn't make it very far. With three quick slashes, Sora closed the gap. Yelling, he stabbed forward, sending out pillars of swirling black microbots. They swarmed around Kairi, encasing her in a sphere made of thick black bars.

Kairi yelled, slashing at the bars, but they simply repaired themselves behind her. Sora stood, arm extended as he held the empty handle of Nano Gear. His gaze was level, but he was frowning, breathing deeply in and out and focusing on keeping her trapped.

From the sidelines, Riku walked between them. "That's enough," he stated, glancing first at Sora, then at Kairi inside the sphere. Exhaling, Sora dropped his hand, and the bots fled back to his Keyblade. Kairi landed on her feet, scowling. After a beat, she released Destiny's Embrace and it vanished in a burst of light. Sora dismissed Nano Gear too, walking towards her with his hand outstretched.

"Good fight," he said, smiling. Kairi didn't return his smile or take his hand. Instead, she turned to Riku.

"You said no magic!"

"I did," Riku agreed, glancing at Sora. His face was neutral, but it came off cold, and the younger boy dropped his hand and his head.

"I didn't think that _was_ magic."

Exasperated, Kairi harrumphed. "What else could it be?" she asked, spreading her hands.

Sora rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "That's just stuff that the Keyblade does," he said with a shrug. "Magic is like fira and blizzard and stuff."

Kairi dropped her hands, blinking at him. Sora could do crazy, amazing, incredible things… and yet he had no idea what was and wasn't magic. He didn't have the faintest clue what he was doing, but somehow he did it anyway. It was baffling to her.

Riku glanced between his friends again. Sora was studying the ground, shoulders twisted away from them ever so slightly. Kairi was looking away too, rubbing her right arm and scowling.

"Well, at least we learned something," Riku muttered.

"Sorry," Sora murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Didn't Donald teach you about that?" Kairi asked him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Donald's… not the best teacher," he answered, spreading his hands with a sheepish grin.

"Well, that's part of why we're doing this," Riku said, one hand on his hip. "Kairi, you probably know the most about magic out of all of us. Could you catch Sora up on the basics while we're here?"

"Okay," she agreed, nodding. She glanced at Sora, offering a small smile. He looked dubious at best.

"I know some things," he muttered, glancing at the ground.

Kairi put a hand on his arm. "I know you do. We've just got to fill in the blanks." He met her eyes, and this time, smiled back at her.

"We wouldn't be here if you didn't," Riku added. Sora looked up, studying the expression on his face. He nodded. He thought he got what his best friend meant. Without him, _Kairi _wouldn't be here. The truth was, if Riku hadn't saved him in that final hour, everything would have been lost. That really could be said about all of Sora's victories - he couldn't close the door without Riku. He couldn't defeat Xemnas without Riku. Riku had dove into his dreams and plucked him straight from Xehanort's clutches. Sure, Sora may have struck the final blows, but he wouldn't have even been there if it weren't for his best friend. In Sora's mind, he hadn't saved the worlds - Riku had.

Speaking of Riku, the older boy was watching him, teal eyes narrowed, searching. Sora glanced away, up at the rippling clouds and clear blue sky. Lacing his fingers together behind his head, he asked, "What are we doing next?"

Riku shifted his weight, sliding from his well-practiced slouch to stand tall and straight once more. "Forms. Kairi, I'm guessing you did some of these with Merlin?"

"Lea taught me some. Merlin was more interested in… mental exercises."

"Sora, did Goofy do anything like this with you?"

"Like stretching and stuff?"

"Sort of. They're series of poses that mimic fighting, so that when you're actually in battle you don't have to try to remember how to move. Your body just knows."

"Oh, uh, no… we didn't do anything like that," he admitted, looking down again.

"Then we'll start at the beginning."

Spreading out, Riku led them through the first few sets Aqua had taught him, throwing in some things from King Mickey as well. First, he showed them the action, including the chants Aqua had taught him. Some were simple sounds to build and release power. Others were small phrases about the nature of the heart, the balance between light and darkness, and the Keyblade itself. After leading them through the form several times, Riku would step back and watch them do it themselves, correcting where necessary until they could do it perfectly.

Sora's training with Donald and Goofy had been haphazard, on an as needed basis, usually via shouted instructions during or immediately after fights. Kairi's training with Merlin had been free-spirited and vague, looping through whatever he felt prudent at the time. Working with Riku was an entirely different world - he was precise, bringing intensity and purpose to every action. He accepted nothing but perfection, but was also patient with his explanations. By the end of it, both Sora and Kairi felt proud of their progress.

"What now?" Kairi asked, sending her Keyblade away.

"The last thing we're doing today is meditating. Master Aqua insisted that every training session end this way, so that we take in what we've learned with a calm, clear mind and go forward with a ready heart," Riku recited. He was oddly nervous about leading them through this, as it was almost as new to him as it was to his friends. Sitting in stillness with his thoughts wasn't unusual behavior for him, but letting them pass through without judgment, without following them, was a different skill entirely.

Nevertheless, it was part of the routine. And, much to everyone's surprise, Sora did as asked without complaint. He settled cross-legged on the grass next to Kairi, facing Riku, and rested his palms on his knees as they did. Riku began talking, leading them through the first phases of this exercise, so Sora closed his eyes and tried to breathe.

The sole of his foot was itching.

_See, you're going to mess this up t-_

_Stop thinking, you're not supposed to be thinking. Breathe. In… out… in…_

_Riku's voice, "Keep your attention on your breath. When your mind wanders, guide it back." _

_He knows you can't do this. He knows you're distracted. You'll never be-_

_Focus. It's like magic. Just focus. In…_

_There's a bug crawling on my arm. My face itches. _

Unconsciously, Sora began bouncing his right knee.

"Remember to stay still, sitting tall, following your breath where you feel it the most," Riku spoke again, trying to recall the gentle way Aqua had phrased things when she'd led him through this last week. There had been no judgement in her guidance. He could fail, was even expected to fail, and that was all right.

He wasn't used to that.

Growing up, his parents had always had high expectations for him. Even in play, the children around him expected him to be the best - the strongest, the bravest, the smartest. He knew he was different long before Terra ever bequeathed him a Keyblade. His secret had spurred him forward. Of course he was stronger and braver and smarter than them; he had a destiny none of them would ever know of.

Then he'd gone and fucked it all up. His failures had cost Kairi and Sora their hearts, and it had taken over a year to fix his catastrophic mistakes.

Failure wasn't something he planned to do again. But, here, in this small and strange exercise not only was he failing, he was actually succeeding by doing so. It was hard to wrap his head around. So he kept focusing on his breath and trying to use Aqua's soft, encouraging phrases to guide Sora and Kairi along with him.

"It's all right if you get distracted, just bring your thoughts back to your breathing."

Sora did stop bouncing his knee. He didn't manage to stop his train of thought from careening all over the place, but his body held still, and that was something. After what felt like an eternity, Riku released them.

"We're doing that every day?" Sora asked, opening his eyes.

"Most of it," Riku replied, standing up. "We can't do everything every day. It would take too long. We didn't cover magic at all, and Aqua said she had more to teach me later. But we are going to do forms and stretching and meditation every time."

Sora groaned, flopping over onto his back with an exaggerated huff.

Kairi shoved him, laughing as she said, "Aw, c'mon, Sora! This'll be good for us. Besides, Riku worked really hard to teach you."

"Hey! You had plenty to learn too," he argued, propping himself back up on his elbows.

"We all do," Riku interjected, and something about his voice made the other two still.

"Then this is perfect," Kairi said, giving him the warmest smile she could muster.

Riku nodded at her, but he couldn't summon one back.

* * *

Following training, they split up to bathe and change. Kairi was reluctant to get back into this world's restrictive clothing, but she did what she had to. At least baths here were nice.

Dance practice wasn't until after dinner, so Riku grabbed the two of them for a short history lesson. Kairi followed that with a session on magic with just Sora. He was seated at the desk in Riku's sitting room with Kairi leaning over him. Pieces of blank paper sat on the desk between them, ready for any notes either wanted to draw up. Kairi was having a hard enough time figuring out what to say, much less writing anything down. She was becoming more and more frustrated with both Donald and Merlin's lack of ability to explain anything.

"But you just focus and it happens!" Sora insisted, twisting himself and the chair to face her, equally frustrated but in the opposite direction. He couldn't understand anything Kairi was saying. He was tired of being talked down to and tired of feeling even stupider than he had after their sparring match.

Kairi stifled a groan and leaned back on her heels. "I mean, sort of, but there's more to it than that." She ran a hand through the hair framing her face as she thought.

"When you cast a spell, you have to be thinking about what you intend to happen, and you have to really want that. And…" she trailed off, trying to find a new way to say the thing she'd been repeating for the last ten minutes. Without beating Sora over the head like Merlin would have by now. "And…" she tried again.

"See!" Sora cut her off, "You can't even explain it, so how am I supposed to understand?" He crossed his arms, pouting like he had when they were little kids and Riku had beaten him again. But they weren't children anymore and he needed to understand this.

Kairi scowled at him, voice rising without her meaning to, "I'm getting there, but you have to be patient and try!"

"I already know how to do magic!"

"But you don't understand what you're doing!"

"I don't need to!" He glared at her, their faces inches apart. "You and Riku think you're so much smarter than me, but you don't even know what I can do because you haven't been there! I've been doing just fine by myself!"

Kairi flinched back, dropping his gaze. He was right - she hadn't been there. She might recognize some of Sora's fighting style, but she didn't have the slightest grasp of his magical abilities. And she really had no idea what all he'd been through to learn them.

"I don't think I'm smarter than you," she murmured, staring at the floor with her arms wrapped around herself.

Still coiled tight with anger, Sora snapped, "Then stop acting like it." Kairi's head shot up.

"You know what? Forget it." She turned on her heel, calling over her shoulder as she left the room, "Figure it out yourself." She slammed the door shut behind her.

* * *

Riku let Sora and Kairi tackle the magic lesson on their own. It would be good for them to spend some time together and perhaps selfishly, he didn't want to be there to watch. He slid out of the room, letting his feet take him wherever they wanted.

_This is how it's supposed to be,_ he told himself. _Get used to it._ But somewhere in the back of his mind a quiet voice asked, _But what if it isn't? What if you could have more? _

For a moment he thought about the future, of an island full of Keyblade wielders, trained by him and Sora and Kairi. Defenders of the Realm of Light. The sun was shining, and he heard laughter. It was a good daydream, but it immediately crumbled under any scrutiny. Like so many places, Destiny Islands was full of people whose lives didn't need to be disturbed by the reality of other worlds. If he continued being a master anywhere, it would probably be the Land of Departure. He tried to imagine what that world was like now, no longer locked as Castle Oblivion. Sora had given it a vague description when he'd been retelling the story of how he and Aqua saved Ventus, but like with most of Sora's stories it was the people and the events that were important, not the scenery.

He couldn't help the way his mouth quirked up, smiling at the memory. He could listen to Sora talk about other worlds for hours, even if he was a little over the top at times. But his smile faded quickly. What were their lives going to look like in the future? Their friendship? _They'll probably go home,_ he mused.

But he wasn't.

_The worlds need you._ No one had said it to him, not directly, but he still felt it all the same. When he'd accepted a Keyblade from Terra, and again when he'd passed his Mark of Mastery exam, he'd become part of a legacy. And who knows? He knew Sora wanted to become a master as well, even if he didn't think his best friend really understood what that meant. Kairi too. They'd always done everything together, the three of them, so this might not be any different.

But they weren't children anymore, and he wasn't sure he wanted that future for either of them. Or for himself. No going back now, though.

Somehow in his musing he'd wound up on the castle roof, curled against a turret as he stared out over the town below him. One foot dangled over the side of the parapet, while his other leg was tucked up to give his arm something to rest on. He was supposed to be calling Aqua. She'd wanted to know how training went and said she had more to teach him. That's what he'd meant to be doing, but with his friends in his room he'd struggled to decide where to have that conversation instead. "Might as well do it up here," he mused aloud, digging into his pocket for his gummiphone. _Maybe she could answer some of my other questions, too. _

He dialed her number, and it barely rang before being answered. Even up this high, the gummiphone could only seem to pick up audio. He'd yet to get any video in Ariel's world, and this conversation wasn't going to be an exception.

"Hello?" someone answered.

"Ven?" Riku asked. Regardless of how long anyone knew him, almost no one called him Ventus. "It's Riku."

He heard Ven's voice calling faintly, "Aqua! It's Riku."

Then Aqua in the distance, "Oh! Here, let me speak to him." There was a shuffling sound, and she said, voice much clearer, "Hello, Riku. How did it go today?"

"Fine," Riku replied. Then hearing the dismissiveness in his tone, he added, "They did well. Just a few hiccups."

"Tell me what happened."

"Most of it was fine," he insisted. "We've just got some things to fill each other in on."

"Meditation went all right? I know you were worried, but you're really quite good at it for a beginner."

"Meditation was fine. Sora even did it."

"That's wonderful," Aqua said, smile evident in her voice.

"Kairi was great. Merlin did a good job catching her up. And Sora's Sora," he chuckled. "He can do things I'm not even sure I'll be able to do someday."

"He is unique. But Riku, it's best not to compare. All of your situations are extraordinary, and because of this so are your abilities. The thing to focus on is where each of you can improve and grow, not how to measure up to one another."

"Right. Thanks, Aqua."

"Of course. Did you need more material, or do you think the three of you will be working on what I've already taught you for a while?"

"I'm ready to learn more, but I also have a question for you."

"Please, ask me anything."

He paused, double-checking how he wanted to word this. "What's going to happen later, when we're older? What does being a Keyblade Master even look like longterm?"

Aqua took a moment with her answer too. "Hmmmm… it's hard to say. The only masters I knew were Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort. My master lived here with us and taught us everything he knew. Ven, Terra and I plan on doing the same. However, long ago there were many Keyblade wielders, each from their own worlds and many of whom traveled from world to world protecting the realm of light. What each of you decides to do with your future is up to you. What does your heart tell you?"

"I'm not sure," Riku answered honestly.

"That's all right. There's no hurry. I'm sure when the time is right you'll know."

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed softly. Something made him hesitate, but he shoved past it. "What else do you have to teach me?"

It was Aqua's turn to pause, and Riku found himself clenching and unclenching his empty fist as he waited. He forced himself to stop right before she answered, "Well, where did we leave off?"

* * *

There wasn't as much time, so Riku only lingered on the roof for half an hour, listening to more tales of Keyblade wielders long gone and practicing the next phase of meditation. Mentally, he made a list of what else they needed to work on some other time: healing, defensive magic, advanced offensive magic, and Keyblade magic - Sora wasn't the only one capable of altering his Keyblade and eventually he would need to be able to do it without the aid of the Good Fairies' clothes.

Dinner was soon, so he said his good-byes and scrambled down from the roof to go check on Sora and Kairi. He slipped through a window and headed towards his room, but he didn't make it far before he ran into Kairi and Ariel.

"Riku!" Kairi gasped, dashing over to him. He was surprised at the worry in her voice, the way her eyes were wide and frantic. She grabbed his hands, clenching tight enough to hurt. "I can't find Sora and then we couldn't find you either and… and…" she gulped, swallowing around what he could only guess were tears. Why was she crying?

"What happened?" he asked urgently, looking around, feeling for darkness.

"Sora and I had a fight," she admitted.

He glanced back down and saw only the top of her head. Her shoulders were hunched as she tried to pull her hands out of his. He hung on - if Kairi was this upset and worried something was wrong. He remembered looking for Sora on the night of the party on the beach, and he remembered watching his best friend shatter the sky and leave him on the plains of the Keyblade Graveyard. He remembered the weeks of being home not knowing if either of them would ever make it back and felt that empty yawning fear start spreading through his core again. But Riku knew he couldn't sense any darkness, and he knew that Sora had taken to vanishing whenever he was upset here. So he stuffed the fear down and asked, "Where have you looked?"

Kairi glanced back up at him. "I started in your room, and we've been looking from there. I was trying to find him to apologize, but we haven't seen any sign of him anywhere, so I went looking for you and then you were gone too-"

"I'm right here, Kairi," he cut in, silencing her headlong rush of words. She was clinging to his hands again, eyes still wide. "And Sora can't be far off," he added, "We'll find him."

Something about his tone must have worked, because she quit clinging quite so hard and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said, "Where should we look next?"

"My room was the last place you saw him?"

"Yes…" She glanced away again, and this time he let her pull her hands out of his. She folded them across her chest, looking down the hallway towards his doors.

He kept his voice level, trying to be soothing. It must have been a pretty bad fight. "I'll check there, see if I can find any clues. Why don't you keep looking around out here, since you know where you haven't searched yet?"

Kairi glanced back at him. "That's a good plan," she agreed, giving him a weak smile.

"It'll be all right, Kairi. It's Sora - he wouldn't have gone far."

"Right," she agreed, but she didn't sound all that certain.

They split up, with Ariel following after Kairi. Riku headed straight for his room. He didn't need a wolf's nose to tell that Sora had been scared - the scents of terror and something else clung to the room like ghosts. He took in another deep breath, looking at the papers scattered on the floor.

Darkness. The smell was darkness.

It was faint, but it was also unmistakably a Sora smell. What the hell had happened here?

Blank papers aside, nothing else in the study appeared to be touched. The bedroom door was open, so Riku did the logical thing and walked through it. The canopy around the bed was laying oddly, and the window was open.

_He jumped straight through,_ Riku guessed. He'd known Sora for longer than he could actually remember. It wasn't hard to picture him running, jumping over the bed, and vaulting out the window. The strange thing was why? Nothing had been here to chase him, and a simple fight seemed unlikely to draw such a strong reaction that he could smell it. Fear might be the only emotion with a scent, but it took an awful lot of it to leave behind a trace. He looked out the window and knew Sora could land that jump in his sleep. Well, as a figure of speech. Sora slept like a pile of seaweed, or a sunken ship - sprawled all over the place, heavy and hard to move.

His gaze tracked out to the horizon. Sora probably went for a walk, okay, no, a run along the beach or a swim. Riku could go try to find him, but it wasn't like his strange sense of smell worked for tracking purposes. And what good would it do? Sora would come back when he was ready. He always did. Though Riku couldn't think of the last time hurt feelings and sharp words hadn't been dealt with via tackles and sword fights that led to mumbled apologies and offers of food or doing the other's homework or something similar. He wasn't counting what had happened since they left home. That wasn't the same thing. None of it was the same.

He looked out the window one last time, hoping for even a glimpse of a silhouette, but the ocean was too far away as it was. Might as well go find Kairi and help her calm down.

* * *

"He's not in the castle," Riku announced as he rounded a corner. Kairi and Ariel were a ways ahead of him, going towards the library which was honestly the last place Kairi thought Sora would be. Still, she wasn't going to stop until she'd combed every inch of this stupidly massive building. She turned around, frowning at her other best friend.

"How do you know?"

"My window's open." He shrugged.

Kairi looked down. Unconsciously, she picked at the hem of her right sleeve. Riku watched her fingers fidget with the edge of it.

"Why don't you two go rest until he comes back?" Ariel suggested gently, placing a comforting hand on Kairi's shoulder. The younger girl met her gaze with a reluctant smile.

"All right," she agreed. Riku's eyes narrowed. "We should wait in your room, Riku," Kairi continued. "He'll probably come back through there."

Wordlessly, he nodded, turning to head back that way. Kairi skittered to catch up, heels clicking on the marble floor. When she reached his side, he glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes.

"What happened?"

"It was just a stupid fight," she said, looking away.

Riku waited. Obviously it was more than that.

Kairi stayed quiet, heels click click clicking as she walked. The sound made him grit his teeth. Both of them were too patient — or stubborn — to break the silence before they reached his study. He opened the door, feeling her eyes on the back of his head. She sank into a chair in a pantomime of practiced grace, smoothing out her skirt behind her. The motion was so wrong, too practiced and perfect and _feminine_ for the girl who'd grown up wrestling in the sand with them, digging for mushrooms and climbing palm trees, whose hands were calloused in all the right places and who pulled out thorns with her teeth.

He leaned against a wall and Kairi wondered if he'd practiced that in a mirror when they were younger. The motion was so routine, the final position exact. She'd seen it a thousand times but for some reason right now it made her want to hit him. _I'm above you, and I'll always be above you,_ it seemed to say. _Above us and beyond us,_ she thought. Neither she nor Sora would ever measure up to this near god across the room from her, all sleek and poised and infuriatingly sure all of the time. _Not all of the time,_ her memory reminded her, softening her expression and the set of her shoulders. He hadn't been very certain last year, begging them both for forgiveness in the only way he knew how - by protecting them.

Riku saw it and decided to ask his question again. Neither of them had said anything for too long. "What happened, Kairi?" he repeated, voice almost soft against the faint sound of ocean waves blowing in from the bedroom.

"I was trying to explain, but he wouldn't listen. You know how Sora is -"

"Stubborn?" Riku supplied.

Kairi sighed, looking for words, "Defensive. Remember when we were nine? And he couldn't figure out fractions so he just kept insisting that they didn't really exist and the teacher was making them up?"

That made him chuckle, just once, under his breath. "You believed him until you talked to the Mayor."

"He was more convincing then," she said, unimpressed. He shifted his shoulders against the wall, so she asked, "What are you getting at?"

There wasn't any point beating around the bush. "He was scared," he explained, voice slow and quiet, "And you were scared. Something happened."

"I was scared because I couldn't find either of you and I thought you'd left me again!" Kairi barked before she could stop herself, hands curling into fists on her lap.

His eyes widened, remembering again the long span of weeks without the two of them and how often he'd wondered how Kairi had endured it. How many times had they abandoned her? Was it really unreasonable she'd be scared they would do it again?

"I'm right here, and Sora's just down on the beach. We would have heard the gummi ship take off."

She rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath to hold in her response to that as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She wouldn't look at him.

"What?" he snapped.

"You really do act like you think you're smarter than us."

Then it was Riku's turn to study the carpet and not say anything. Kairi sighed again.

"That wasn't fair; I'm sorry."

He glanced up at her, meeting her eyes. "It makes sense that you were frightened. I just don't understand why he was." Looking away again, he added, "We've abandoned you more than once."

"It wasn't your fault," she said right away.

"That's not true," he corrected, tone dull where it should have been sharp.

Another stalemate. She had no idea what to say to that or what he even meant. The silence stretched on.

Once she'd had a moment, Kairi asked, "How do you know he was scared?"

"Ansem left me with a very good sense of smell," he answered.

"I don't know why he felt that way," she replied, dodging his thorny statement.

Riku shook his head. "Something's wrong."

"I feel it too." She fiddled with her hands in her lap. "What do we do, Riku?"

He'd give about everything in any world to actually have an answer for her. Instead, he said, "We have to wait for him to come to us."

"Because that worked so well with you," Kairi pointed out dryly, one eyebrow raised.

"We're not the same person. Sora actually asks for help."

"Not anymore," she said. "He learned that from you."

Riku shook his head. "No," he stated, "he learned that on his own."

You don't even know what I can do because you haven't been there! I've been doing just fine by myself!

Kairi looked away again.

Riku watched her for a moment, weighing the way her hands were clenched in her skirt and the guilt in the corners of her eyes. "Kairi?"

She looked up at him, surprised. "Yes?"

"How did you do it? Forgive us," he clarified. Then, looking away, "Forgive me?"

Her hands stilled, tensely held in place. She studied the pattern of fibers in the carpet, gaze bouncing back and forth between every twisted strand. It took her a moment to find words, another two to say them. "You're my best friend. I was angry about what happened for awhile. Now I'm not."

"You have every right to be angry," Riku said mildly, though he felt anything but mild. He couldn't look at her.

Kairi shook her head. "Not about that. I wasn't angry at you for using the darkness, or whatever else you did." She clenched and unclenched her jaw, teeth gripped around words she didn't want to say. She didn't want to talk about this.

Infuriatingly, he waited, refusing to speak.

"You never told me what happened," she finally forced out. "You and that witch carried my body around for weeks? Months? Neither you or Sora ever told me how long it was. I don't even know what you did to forgive you for. You never told me." She swallowed, looking up at the intricate cornice work on the ceiling. "And then what? You went off and did… whatever while I stayed at home waiting for the both of you. For just you. You didn't even come get me when-" she shut her mouth hard, grinding her teeth. Her arms crossed over her chest, hands clinging to her shoulders to try to stop them from shaking. She swallowed down angry tears and shook her head. "No, sorry."

Riku shook his head mutely, the motion short and sharp. Carefully, he walked over to the chair beside her, slouched and hesitant like he'd been not so long ago, when his hair was long and there wasn't a title before his name. He sat down, one hand resting on the arm of Kairi's chair, as close to her as he dared.

"Three weeks," he said simply, voice low. Kairi looked at him, arms still wrapped around herself. "You were…" he hesitated, looking for a word, "…out for three weeks, maybe a little less."

"What happened?" she nearly whispered.

"Nothing happened," he insisted. She raised an eyebrow and he looked down. "Once I knew where you were I didn't let you out of my sight. You were safe."

"With Maleficent? Riku, I'm not stupid."

"Why do you think I was there?" he demanded, jaw set. They watched each other, eyes hard.

After a moment, she lifted her chin. "What did you do?"

"To find you?" he asked, not hesitating. "Anything."

She swallowed, unable to drop his gaze. His teal eyes were burning, and she knew he meant it now as much as he had then. Her hands drifted from her shoulders, going to rest on the arms of her chair. But his hand was there and she didn't dare set hers on top of it. Not when he was looking at her like that.

Riku couldn't handle the quiet, so he went on. "I kidnapped Jasmine, brought her back to Hollow Bastion. I guarded them, the princesses, when I wasn't Maleficent's errand boy. I tried to kidnap a kid, a puppet. I thought- I thought that he would help me find out how to get you your heart back." He paused, taking a steadying breath. "I fought Sora, over and over. I said things… things I never should have said."

"Riku…" Kairi murmured, and this time she did take his hand.

He shook his head. "I'm the reason the Islands were destroyed."

"What are you talking about?"

"I stayed behind that night, remember?" She nodded once, so he went on, "I opened the door. I was going to take the raft myself, alone. I just wanted… I don't even know what I wanted."

"I tried to get Sora to leave with me without you," Kairi said abruptly, causing Riku to jolt. She dropped his hand.

"He wouldn't do it," she added. They watched each other again, searching. "I was scared of you. My best friend. And I didn't even know why."

"You're a Princess of Heart," he spoke slowly, carefully, "your heart is pure light. And mine, back then? Pretty dark." He looked down. "Of course you were scared."

She shook her head. "That's not an excuse. You're my friend; I never should have been scared of you. I should have helped you."

Riku looked up at her with a small, sad smile. "I wouldn't have let you."

"I still should have tried!" she insisted, banging her fists against the chair.

"Hey, that's enough of that," he admonished gently, taking the hand closest to him and slowly uncurling her fingers so that her nails quit biting into her palm. Then he did her other hand, watching their fingers, expression soft through his eyelashes. She remembered him looking up at her through his hair the same way, before she'd cut it for him. He'd asked her to, the night before they were supposed to leave for their test.

"I need to be able to see clearly if I'm going to pass," was all he'd said. So she'd pulled out her scissors, and he didn't say anything when it became immediately obvious that they weren't sharp enough.

"What else did you want to know?" present Riku asked her.

"You'll really tell me?"

"Yes. Whatever you want to know."

She hesitated, mind suddenly blank even though she knew she had a hundred questions. She never got a chance to ask any of them. There was a knock on the door, and behind it Ariel ushering them to dinner.

"He's not back yet," she fretted, following Riku anyway.

"He'll be here soon," Ariel insisted, " and you know how upset Louis will get if the food comes back cold."

"Fair point," Kairi reluctantly agreed. It was best not to upset Chef Louis.

* * *

Thanking every god in Olympus for magic itself, Sora blew the last of the water from his hair with an Aero spell. _See? I know how to do magic,_ a part of him groused, banishing the Kingdom Key. _Shut up,_ his train of thought immediately added, irritated. There was no point in being petty. He just had to go in there and apologize.

Dinner had already started, though guessing by the soup bowls in front of his friends, it was only the second course. He hadn't missed much. There was a steaming serving waiting for him in between Riku and Kairi, but he didn't even get close before Kairi had marched up to him, eyes blazing.

"Where were you?" she demanded, fists clenched. "We looked everywhere and couldn't find you!"

Sora glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling awkwardly. "I just went for a swi-" but before he could finish the sentence Kairi had thrown her arms around his neck. He froze, staring at the top of her head in shock. Wasn't she mad at him? She'd seemed pretty mad at him.

"I thought you were gone," she murmured, pulling back with a distinct sniff. She wouldn't look at him as she wiped at the corners of her eyes. Sora swallowed, unsure what to do or say. Suddenly, all her anger was back as she straightened her spine and stomped at him. "Don't do that again!"

"Okay, okay," he agreed, holding up his hands in defense. Her glare softened and she lowered herself back into a much less aggressive posture. "I'm sorry for scaring you," Sora added quietly.

"You should be!" Kairi snapped, a fraction of her irritation springing to her face. Just as quickly it was gone. She stared at the black and white marble beneath their feet. "I'm sorry too, for yelling at you. Earlier, I mean," she clarified, glancing up at him.

"I yelled too," he pointed out, shrugging and looking away.

Riku walked up behind them. "Come eat," he said, voice quiet. Sora dared a glance at him, but couldn't read his face.

"Sorry," he murmured, just in case. Riku just shook his head.

The trio returned to their seats, and Eric instantly changed the subject, drumming up awkward conversation. Slowly, with Ariel's helpful prodding, they began to relax and speak normally again. But something still hung in the air that no one was willing to address.

This sensation followed them into the ballroom for dance lessons. Initially, Eric had planned for this to be the session they would dance with each other for the first time. Seeing the three teenagers now, that seemed like a great way to make sure this lesson was as awkward and useless as possible. So he summoned Carlotta and Grimsby for Riku and Kairi and had Ariel stick with Sora. Maybe she could cheer the normally buoyant boy up.

Kairi hadn't been present for the first round of dancing, but she'd been filled in during lessons since then, and had caught on easily. Even Sora was more or less on the same playing field now, so Eric began with a quick warm-up waltz. Then, he introduced another popular style of dance, the third kind they'd learned so far. This one was faster, with creative footwork that both followers and leaders could improvise on.

Riku picked it up quickly and instead devoted most of his attention to watching Sora and Kairi out of the corners of his eyes. Ariel was already teasing Sora, getting him to laugh and loosen up without much effort. Kairi was all over the place, one minute confident and laughing, the next tripping on her own feet and apologizing. Grimsby took it all with his usual grace. His steady attitude helped the young woman settle into the routine, eventually. But she was still struggling with the faster improvisations by the end of the hour. For whatever reason, she had trouble coming up with anything interesting to do. So she mostly just kept time until her partner came back to closed position with her. By the time the lessons were over, her frustration was obvious to her friends.

Sora and Riku hung back as Eric, Ariel and their staff cleared the room.

"You guys go on ahead," Kairi offered, smile thin and unconvincing. "I'm going to practice a little more."

"Do you want help?" Sora offered, holding out a hand. His tone and movements were gentler than normal- still apologizing, Kairi guessed.

Her smile got a little warmer, "Okay," she said, taking his hand and sliding into the starting position. Glancing over Sora's shoulder, she saw Riku hovering by the door. "We could both use your help, Riku," she called. "You're as good at this as you are at everything else."

Sora turned to smirk at his best friend. "Yeah, show-off. Come teach us how it's done," he ribbed.

Riku rolled his eyes, but as he walked over he was smiling. "All right," he said, holding out a hand to Kairi, "you first."

She glanced at Sora, who shrugged and grinned and let her go. She moved into place by Riku, and Sora dashed off to start the gramophone up again. Almost instantly, Riku began leading her through the steps they'd practiced earlier, perfectly on beat. For the first few movements she was oddly nervous, but soon the routine of it took over. A grin split her face, and she saw the corners of Riku's eyes tip up with the slightest smile.

"Just follow my lead," he said as they neared the part she struggled with. Technically, they were supposed to separate, still holding hands but otherwise moving on their own. Instead, Riku nudged her shoulder, leading her around in a series of spins and flourishes that ended with her wrapped in her own arms, her back to his chest and both her hands in his. One twist and he'd led her through undoing it, pulling her gently back into the standard position just in time.

From the sidelines, Sora started clapping and she couldn't help but laugh. "That was amazing!"

"You did half of it," Riku retorted, but he was smiling just as much as she was.

"Show Sora how to do that," Kairi insisted. So Riku did, breaking it down step by step until both of them understood what was happening. Not only could they replicate it, they had some idea of how to improvise within it.

Or at least Sora did, dipping Kairi instead of one of the spins. As he brought her back up, he said, "Jump!" So she did, launching herself high enough to flip over once before landing next to him again.

"I was going to catch you!" he protested, pulling her back into the dance anyway.

"Next time!" she giggled.

"Slow your fall with an aero spell," Riku added, "You'll stay more in time that way."

"Okay!" she replied, liking that idea. When they reached that part again, Sora repeated what he'd done, dipping her gently. She leapt up at just the right time, flipping once and then gracefully floating down into his arms. They beamed at each other; faces warm. But the music didn't let them stay there long, and they kept moving to the beat in perfect time. They danced through the next few bars of the song, but Kairi's brain was chewing on an idea. She waited until the next space where they were supposed to separate. When Sora sent her for a spin, she cast streams of fire out from her free hand, trailing ribbons of flame around her as she twirled.

That definitely caught Sora's interest, and for the next few steps he found ways to accent them with flames too. Soon they were just playing, weaving fire and water and blizzard spells around themselves as they moved, laughing and complimenting each other's magic.

Wanting in on the fun, Riku caught her on the end of a far-reaching spin, easily sweeping her into closed position. Kairi laughed, enjoying herself too much to bother protesting. Sora didn't complain either, caught in the mood and the music.

Riku led her around deftly, leaning into the more complicated steps Eric had shown them and making up a few things of his own. He also played with magic, accenting Kairi's flames with contrasting purple dark fire. Every new thing made her giggle, delighted. The three of them danced around for what felt like ages, spells getting more and more elaborate. Towards the end, Sora turned half the room into an ice rink, sending Kairi skating on blades she made with her own blizzard spell. She melted all of it with a burst of flame as she slid back into his arms, sweeping the remaining water around them into the air. It danced about in swooping, splashing ribbons until she evaporated it with another fire spell.

Over an hour later, they flopped on their backs in the center of the room, happily exhausted and still laughing. Kairi closed her eyes, reaching out and catching Riku's hand. Her right hand still held Sora's and she squeezed them both tight. "I wish it was always like this," she murmured.

"Me too," Sora said right away.

"It will be," Riku added, even if a second after the words left his mouth he knew that wasn't actually possible.

"Yeah!" Sora agreed, and Kairi hummed in the back of her throat, eyes still closed. Contented silence settled over the trio as they caught their breath. They laid still, eyes closed, long after their breathing had settled into a normal rhythm.

"We should go to bed," Riku finally said, resigning himself to moving, to being alone soon.

"Yeah…" Kairi sighed. "It's getting late." Slowly, she sat up, letting go of Sora and Riku's hands. Riku followed suit, and then they noticed that Sora had fallen asleep.

"Lazy bum," Kairi murmured affectionately, kneeling back down beside him and shaking his shoulders. "Wake up, Sora!" He jumped, jolting awake as he often did.

"Sorry," he chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's all right," Kairi said soothingly. "It's been a long day."

The brown haired boy hung his head, looking away from them both. "Kairi, I'm really sorry… about earlier and for scaring you like that."

She stood up, then bent down and took his hand again, pulling him to his feet. "I forgive you, and I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have stormed out like I did."

Riku put a hand on both of their shoulders. "We can all do better tomorrow."

Sora nodded, grinning. "Right!"

"We should get some sleep," Kairi said, voice reluctant.

"Oh," Sora replied, deflating a little as he remembered that from tonight onward they were going to have to sleep in their own rooms.

Riku started heading for the ballroom's double doors. "C'mon then. It's late."

Slowly, they meandered back to their rooms one at a time. Sora's was closest, and after saying good night to his friends he slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him. Immediately, his gaze wandered to the large blue glow visible on the horizon. It had gotten much bigger over the course of their stay, which Sora took to mean it was gradually coming closer. He scratched his shoulder, then tugged his shirt over his head. Looking at it made him anxious, so he did his best to stuff the feeling down and get ready for sleep. Fortunately, all his magic use and training that day made him plenty tired, and he swiftly settled into slumber's arms.

* * *

Notes:

Wow, uh, it's been awhile. I've been a little distracted with a recent promotion at my job, which is very exciting but means I have even less time and energy to focus on this. Got a bit of writer's block too. But, in good news, I've recently had another burst of creativity, so there will be another update next week and hopefully the week after as well! So be on the lookout for that.

Chapter title this week comes from The World Ends With You OST. Just seemed appropriate for a chapter with this much physical and verbal sparring. Sorry if it had you expecting something else though. ;)

I hope you all are staying safe during all of the craziness going on right now. Stay inside as much as you can and practice good self-care. Wishing you all the best!


	12. Quarter Past Midnight

Atlantica part 4

Party 'til you turn into a pumpkin

* * *

In just a few too-quick days, it was the night of the gala. The guests had begun to arrive yesterday, representing every noble family and rich estate in Eric's kingdom. Unable to train together like they had been, the three teens spent the morning helping with final preparations, catching each other's eyes in passing. As the guest of honor, Riku went with Eric to greet the later arrivals. Kairi and Ariel bustled about sorting out last minute details and instructing the hoards of musicians and performers where to go and when. Meanwhile, Sora busied himself wherever a little help was needed, whether it was moving heavy furniture or assisting in the kitchens.

An hour before dinner, they were sent to their rooms to get ready. Kairi was running a little late (she and Ariel had been having too much fun chatting about what being a mermaid was like.) When she finally did get to her room, she found one of Ariel's maids waiting to help her get ready.

"There's a present on the desk for you, miss," the young woman said formally.

"Oh, thank you," Kairi responded automatically. She walked over quickly, curious who could have given her a gift and why. She found two items laid haphazardly across the wood and a small handwritten note. The untidy scrawl could only belong to one person, and the contents of the note itself confirmed it.

_Hey Kairi! These are for tonight, just in case. _

_-Sora_

She turned her attention to the presents themselves. One was a simple seeming gold ribbon, with a little white dot embroidered on each forked end. The other was a short chain of shield-shaped blue metal. Each link in the chain had a crown shaped cut-out in the center. Dangling off of that was a large silver charm. It was roughly shield shaped as well, with crescent moons and spikes coming off the edges. A large crescent moon surrounding three stars was engraved into the heart of it. Both hummed of magic, though she couldn't identify exactly what enchantments were on each of them.

_Why would he give me these?_ she wondered. She wasn't given much time to ponder, however, as the maid cut through her thoughts.

"Should we get you ready, miss?"

"Oh, yes, of course," she agreed, scooping the jewelry off the table and tucking it into the pocket of her dress. She would find a way to wear them later.

* * *

Riku stood in front of the oval standing mirror in his room, fastening the last golden epaulette to his right shoulder. Sashes and medals and cufflinks sat ready on a near-by table. He lifted his chin, tilting his head to shift his silver bangs across his forehead into a more suitable position. Straightening his shoulders, he took a deep breath and notice he was smiling. Despite his uncertainty at what his future might hold, he was excited for tonight.

He reached for his sash, but a knock at the door stilled his hands. It was Sora, mostly dressed in a stark white double-breasted suit coat and perfectly tailored black pants, all trimmed in gold and navy blue. One epaulette hung half-fastened from his left shoulder, and the other was tangled in the pile of accessories in his hands. His feet were bare, shoes and socks nowhere in sight, and he grinned sheepishly up at Riku as he opened the door.

"I think I need some help."

Shaking his head, Riku smiled and stepped aside to let him in. Sora dumped the pile in his arms haphazardly on the bed, then turned and began fussing with the lacing holding the epaulette to his shoulder. It was cleverly designed to be hidden underneath the shoulder strap once it was properly attached, but Sora was quickly turning it into a knotted mess.

"Here," Riku said, nudging his friend's hands out of the way. Sora let him, holding still with his head tipped slightly to give his friend more room to work. For a moment, they were quiet as Riku's fingers patiently untangled the strands of ribbon. With little else to do, Sora took in the golden embroidery around the collar of Riku's navy blue coat. So many tiny stitches wrought beautifully twisting golden vines that wrapped around most of his neck. They ended where they met the rays of two rising suns, each in the lower corner of the collar's frontmost edge.

Sora swallowed, wondering why his heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. He became suddenly conscious of his breathing. Was it too loud? Did it sound as anxious as he felt? What if he had always breathed oddly and had just never noticed? He glanced at Riku's face. His friend's eyes were focused, half-lidded as he looked down at his work. Something about his expression made Sora's stomach feel light and floaty, like it was made of wings.

He wasn't able to sit with the sensation for long, as Riku's teal eyes glanced up and met his. Starting slightly, Sora recovered with a tense grin. "Uh, thanks," he said, turning his other shoulder towards him, "Do you think you could help me with the other one?"

"Sure," Riku agreed with a good-natured smirk. His own stomach was doing flips - it was far too easy to picture closing the distance between them when it was this small. Instead, he went and grabbed the other epaulette off of the bed. As he untangled it from Sora's hap-hazard pile, a necklace fell out, bouncing a short distance across the bedspread. The strength of the enchantments on it caught Riku's attention straight away. He reached out and picked it up, studying the circular golden pendant. A large three-pointed crown adorned the center, and small trefoils of metal bordered the circle on all four sides. It hung from a thin but sturdy chain. "What's this?" he asked, holding it up.

"Actually… that's for you," Sora answered, looking almost sheepish. When Riku raised an eyebrow, he went on, rubbing the back of his neck, "We can't carry any supplies with us to the party, and it's not like anything will happen, but I thought it was better to be prepared. You know, just in case," he finished, shrugging his shoulders and glancing back at his best friend.

The older boy gave him a measured look, and Sora could've sworn he almost looked proud.

"That's not a bad idea," Riku said, taking another glance at the pile. He realized that the necklace in his hand wasn't the only enchanted item. There were cufflinks and ribbons and another necklace wrapped up in Sora's red sash, as well as a heart-shaped broach made of fine blue crystal pinned to it. He glanced back at the younger boy and noticed for the first time that there was a silver dragon earring in Sora's left ear.

"Where'd you get all these?" he asked, slipping the necklace over his head and tucking it securely between his suit coat and undershirt.

"I made them," Sora replied. "Well, most of them," he added fairly. Riku came over with the second epaulette and started fastening it. Sora tipped his head obligingly, this time deciding it was safer to stare at the wall.

There were a couple of things Riku couldn't help but notice. The earring, for one. It was topped by an s-shaped winged serpent sitting on a spiked pedestal. A small blue and purple gem sat in the center, and most of the magic was contained there. The top of the pedestal was adorned with four decorative swoops, two pointing upwards and two smaller ones curling down. Some of the hair by Sora's ear was wet, and if he had to guess he'd assume that his best friend had at least attempted to tame his wild mane. It must not have worked; his hair was still spiked like it always was. He resisted the urge to chuckle, but Sora still saw his smile out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, what's that look for?" he groused.

"Nothing," Riku replied breezily, smirk getting wider as he finished the last few laces and buttoned down the shoulder strap. "Just picturing how you're going to embarrass yourself in front of Kairi tonight," he teased.

"Riku!" Sora protested, trying to shove him backwards. Anticipating this, his best friend side-stepped, causing Sora to unbalance. He teetered for a second, then righted himself and swung his arm at Riku's chest, chopping against his sternum and ribs with the outer edge of his forearm. Riku just laughed.

"Hopeless," he teased.

"Jerk," Sora fired back, and his pretend angry face was comical enough they both couldn't help laughing.

"C'mon," Riku said, jostling him with his shoulder, "We're gonna be late if we don't hurry."

He grabbed his own sash off the table. The brilliantly white piece of silk was bordered in thick gold thread and fastened through the strap on his left shoulder. It looped down to a heavy ornament that sat at his right hip. All three of their sashes ended with the same insignia - a gleaming golden scalloped shell encasing a circle of bright teal enamel. Inside the circle blazed a golden trident, which was the symbol Ariel had chose to represent her home. The buttons on both boys' coats also bore tridents in their center. Riku adjusted his suit coat, shifting it under his sash until both hung comfortably. Behind him, Sora was doing the same, tugging on his simpler red riband. Both boys finished their last steps quickly, putting on enchanted cufflinks and pinning on medals.

They stared at their reflections in the mirror for a moment. Almost immediately, Sora looked down at his bare feet and muttered, "Shoes!" under his breath. He darted out of the room, rounding the corner just enough to disappear before popping his head back around the frame.

"You look good, Riku," he stated, adding hastily, "Like a real Keyblade Master should." One quicksilver flash of a smile and then he was gone again before Riku could even summon up a response.

Hope flared in his chest and for once he didn't try to shove it down with logic and bad memories.

* * *

Both boys wound up waiting for Kairi behind the great grand staircase where all three of them would make their entrance. The last guest had just gone down the stairs, properly announced by Grimsby. Ariel and Eric were waiting with them, as it was their turn next. Ariel flashed them a big smile, trying to ease their obvious nerves.

"See you three down there," she whispered, mindful of all the people on the other side of the curtain. "Good luck!"

"They'll be fine," Eric reassured her, resting a hand on her shoulder. He gave the two young men a comforting smile, then steered his wife to the top of the stairs. Hand in hand, they walked through.

"Their Majesties, Prince Eric and his wife, Princess Ariel of Atlas," Grimsby boomed.

Sora peeked out through the gap in the curtains as they closed behind his friends, but he couldn't see much more than bright lights and so many colors. The small sound of someone clearing their throat made him turn around.

Kairi was standing there, arms behind her back in her characteristic stance. Her dark red hair had been curled and fixed back with the golden ribbon Sora had left in her room. Golden earrings set with purple stones dangled from her ears, accenting her violet eyes and the matching intricate necklace around her throat. Her dress was cream, gold and blush pink with a sweeping neckline and broad array of skirts that draped down to the floor. A gold sash hung from her left shoulder to her right hip, with only the large scallop shell to decorate it. Delicate floral embroidery studded with stars traipsed over her bodice and along the bottom of her skirts. Sora's eyes went wide at the sight of her.

"Wow," he breathed, "you look amazing, Kairi." He blushed as soon as the words were out of his mouth, quickly looking away as he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.

Kairi chuckled, real blush accenting the light makeup she'd applied at Ariel's encouragement. Hiding her irrepressible smile behind one hand, she said, "Thank you, Sora. You look great. You both do," She added, glancing at Riku who was watching them with a knowing smile and folded arms.

"Our turn," he said, inclining his head towards the staircase.

"Right!" Sora said, straightening up. There was a bit of a shuffle as they tried to get in formation and realized they didn't know what order to walk down in. Ordinarily, Kairi would be on the right arm of whoever was escorting her in. But the three of them had chosen to walk in together, so they had to decide who was going in the middle.

"It's your night," Sora finally said, differing to Riku. He looked at his friends, then moved to stand between them, offering his right arm to Kairi. She gracefully shifted, sliding her hand into the crook of it. He glanced at Sora, and then held out his left arm in the same way. Sora chuckled, a little sheepish, but he looped his arm through Riku's anyway. Together, then walked forward, through the curtain, pausing on the landing so Grimsby could announce them.

"Riku, Kairi and Sora of Atlas!"

The three of them felt all the heads in the room swivel and look at them at once. It was intimidating, every one of those eyes boring into them as they descended the stairs. Riku kept his head high, back straight, expression even, almost defiant. _Say something about this; I dare you_, it said. Sora was smiling, nodding at those he made eye contact with. He seemed perfectly at ease, but his tight grip on Riku's arm said otherwise. Kairi was also clinging onto Riku, unable to hide her nerves. Ariel caught her eye and smiled, tilting her head as if to remind her young friend to do the same. It worked, and she let a naturally charming expression bloom across her face.

They descended the stairs without incident and were immediately swarmed by the people waiting there. Lords and ladies, all dressed in elaborate gowns and suits, were eager to introduce themselves to the three teenagers. Kairi kept a firm grip on Riku's arm, but Sora was quickly swept away by people eager to talk to him.

"I love your hair," one young woman in a pink dress commented to Kairi. "I've never seen such a short style."

"Thank you," Kairi replied, bobbing her head.

"Lady Araminta," the other girl introduced herself, offering Kairi a shallow curtsey. She went on, giving the three heroes the names and titles of the companions around her. Riku noticed a tall boy with long fingers and brown eyes.

"You two seem close," observed Lady Fantine, a girl with sharp hazel eyes and the faintest hint of disdain in her expression.

"We've been friends since we were kids," Riku replied smoothly, ignoring the girl's look and the way Kairi's hand tightened its grip on his arm.

"How romantic!" Araminta cooed, hand to her heart.

Riku and Kairi exchanged a look. "Oh, we're not -"

"We're just friends," Riku asserted.

"The three of us are best friends," Kairi reiterated. "Right, Sora?" she asked, leaning forward to see him around their circle of conversation. He turned his head at the sound of his name and flashed her an easy grin.

"Right!" he agreed instantly, not even worrying what the question was about. Kairi chuckled as he slipped his hands behind his head, still Sora regardless of his fancy clothes.

"I did think it was interesting, you three walking in together like that," another young man, interjected, drawing her attention back to the conversation at hand.

"We chose to come in together because that's how we're going to be moving forward," Riku explained, "The three of us are a unit."

Araminta was aghast. "Surely you don't fight, though?" she asked Kairi.

The Princess of Heart lifted her chin. "Yes, I do. I'm newer to it than Sora or Riku, but I can protect myself."

"You can do a lot more than that," Riku added quietly. She caught his eye and smiled, and was rewarded by a small, secret smile of his own.

They were spared from further prying by a footman directing their attention to the stage near the back of the room. Ariel and Eric were already on it. As the crowd clustered in front of them, other staff fetched Sora, Riku, and Kairi and drew them to the side of the stage. Once everyone was present, Eric began to speak.

"Lords and Ladies, friends and welcome guests, tonight we have something very exciting to celebrate. Ariel and I have been working with her father to further the friendship between our two kingdoms. Tonight, we sign a military alliance that will strengthen both countries for many years to come. And, as a symbol of this treaty, she and I will both be knighting Riku of Atlas as a trusted friend and soldier for both of our countries' armies. He and his friends are some of the most promising warriors her kingdom has to offer, and we are happy to specifically honor his accomplishments with all of you.

"Riku has faced many challenges in his military career, and he has bested them all with grace, intelligence and fierce determination. He takes his training seriously and elevates anyone who works with him. We know he'll do well as he passes that knowledge onto his friends, Sora and Kairi of Atlas. With this in mind, we are happy to present him with the special rank of 'Master', a very high honor in the Atlasian military. Riku, would you come up here please?" Eric turned, smiling at the young man.

Riku raised his chin, glancing quickly at Sora and Kairi beaming beside him. As their eyes met, Kairi tipped her head, widening her encouraging smile. Sora, true to form, gave him a huge grin and two big thumbs up. Shoulders squared, eyes steady, he climbed the three short steps to the stage. As he crossed over to where Eric was waiting, the crowd burst into applause.

Ariel stepped up beside her husband, a proud smile on her face and a ceremonial sword in her hands. Riku lowered himself to one knee, knowing what was coming. They'd practiced this ceremony several times in the last few days. Still, he wasn't ready for the pride in Ariel's eyes as she asked, "Riku of Atlas, do you swear to fight loyally, not only for me but for my husband as well? Will you promise to uphold the ideals and dreams of your people and defend the innocent, promote peace, and protect what truly matters with all your heart?"

"I swear it," he said, voice projecting out over the hushed crowd. He'd written the vow himself, with Ariel and Eric's help. He couldn't have meant it more.

Ariel continued, "Then I am happy to knight you in the name of both my kingdoms as Master Riku." As she spoke, she lightly touched each of his shoulders with the blade in her hands. As soon as she lifted the sword for the final time, Riku rose. Instantly, Sora and Kairi let out a cheer, and the whole crowd of people joined in. Eric stepped forward and pinned a new medal to his chest, right above his heart - a deep blue triangle with the insignia Aqua, Terra, and Ventus wore dangling from it. It had been the only symbol he could think of to represent his Mark of Mastery, even if that wasn't exactly what it was for. Now, he couldn't be more proud to wear it.

There wasn't a lot of time for introspection, though, as Sora and Kairi raced on stage, stopping just short of tackling him.

"Congratulations, Riku!" Kairi chimed, tucking her arms behind her back. The pride in her smiling eyes could have lit up the whole room. Beside her, Sora was grinning. He was so excited he had to ball his hands into fists in an attempt to hold still but he couldn't keep from pumping them in the air by his shoulders.

"Yeah, congrats!" he agreed. Riku smiled back at both of them, but didn't manage to get a word in before Ariel had swept him up in a quick hug. She and Eric offered their sincere congratulations while Grimsby announced to the room that it was time for dinner.

Slowly, the whole crowd of people bustled into the dining room. Seating for everyone was assigned, with Eric and Ariel at the head of the table. Riku, Kairi and Sora were arranged in that order on Ariel's right hand side. The more prominent members of Eric's court sat across from them with their spouses. Surrounded by adults and fresh off of Riku's knighting, the conversation took on a more mature tone. Eric and Ariel navigated it with the most ease, used to these people and this world's polite conversation. Riku managed well enough, accepting their compliments graciously and successfully answering around their more difficult questions. He was, understandably, the focus for quite some time, and Kairi took refuge in how little people actually spoke to her. She wasn't sure how Riku managed to be so gracious and careful all at once. He never let anything slip.

From her spot two seats over, Ariel watched her friend's nerves slowly build. Finally, during a fishing story of Eric's, she leaned over and caught Kairi's eyes behind Riku's back.

"You're doing great," she encouraged, giving her a big smile and a thumbs-up. "I didn't talk much at my first dinner party either."

"Thanks," Kairi murmured, giving her a relieved smile.

"We'll all be dancing before you know it," Ariel reassured her. "And I think the three of you are going to be pretty busy," she added, smile turning to a smirk. With a knowing nod, she directed Kairi's attention to the younger guests a little ways down the table. Sora had a few girls invested in a story of his own, and the sour-faced, hazel-eyed Fatine from earlier was keeping a very attentive eye on Riku. One gentleman surprised Kairi, staring straight at her with warm brown eyes, and she found herself blushing and looking away.

"Do you ever stop meddling?" she asked Ariel.

She laughed. "Who said I was meddling?" she asked, spreading her hands innocently. "Besides, it would be good for the three of you to mingle. Make some new friends."

"Alright," Kairi agreed, drifting back into the conversation when someone asked her a direct question. Dinner moved on, and with dinner came quite the assortment of drinks, mainly wine. Neither Riku nor Kairi had ever had alcohol before, and they tried to sip sparingly. It was hard to pay attention though, with all the food and conversation, and one person telling them about the excellent vintage and another pointing out how well the drinks went with their meal. Kairi began to feel a little lighter, having an easier time opening up and talking to the people around her. Beside her, Sora had the guests around him eating out of the palm of his hand, figuratively speaking. He was effortlessly engaging, frequently leaving the guests and friends around him in stitches. He hardly seemed to notice the endless array of plates that were set in front of him.

Once dinner was complete, the guests were released to enjoy all the entertainments planned for the evening. The ballroom was bedecked with candles and flowers, and a cavalcade of musicians played from a stage set along one wall. In the rooms surrounding the main floor, various entertainers plied their crafts doing everything from juggling to fortune telling. Grand storytellers wove tales, and orators with exhaustive knowledge about their topics of choice gave brief lectures. One room held a trio of artists doing charcoal sketches of the guests, and in the garden daring players ate fire and swallowed swords.

As Ariel had predicted, Sora, Riku and Kairi were in high demand as dance partners. They spun through song after song, stopping as needed to get drinks or hors d'oeuvres or take a break in the various rooms. Between the festive atmosphere and the alcohol, the night soon stretched into glimmering moments bursting across their senses.

Sora's teeth flashed as he laughed, head tipped back. Kairi's red hair caught in the candle light, sweeping across her cheek like a blinding comet. The greens of Riku's eyes, rings around a shadowy planet, glinted as he smiled. Tossing back another drink, fizzling across Kairi's tongue. The burn in the back of Sora's throat as warmth filled his belly. Fabric swishing against Riku's legs as he pulled his partner in from a spin. Blue eyes catching on brown, not wanting to pull away. Nimble fingers combing through silver hair as he pulled his partner a little closer. Dizzy as Kairi let herself get pulled up from another dip, giggling. The warm feeling of home as she and Sora collided into each other again.

"Kairi!" he hailed, her name heralding from his lips like a trumpet call.

She held out her hands, laughing, "Sora!"

He spun her around in a giddy circle. One turn, two, and then he pulled her into closed position with ease. Smooth and synchronized, they moved through the music. Sora drew her close, twisting her around so that her back was pressed against his chest, her own arms crossed about her.

"When did you get this good at dancing?" she teased him, smirking over her shoulder. Her face was so close, he could feel the warmth of her blush on his cheek. He laughed and turned her back around.

"I could say the same to you!"

Later on, propped up against a wall as they talked to some of the other guests, Sora felt Riku's weight as they leaned on each other's shoulders. The way he looked at him that tipped the whole world on its axis. Sora's laughter rippled through Riku's sternum, echoing in the marrow of his bones. Kairi's hands grabbed both of theirs, dragging them out onto the dance floor again. So many girls with long lashes and low necklines and warm hands. One boy with dark eyes and a white smile that kept tripping Sora up from across the room. So many faces passed in and out of Kairi's sight as she twirled around and around and around. A sudden rage that filled her belly as the hazel-eyed girl, Fantine, grasped for Riku's hands. Quick steps and a deft touch as she cut in between them. Her lips near his ear as she leaned up and explained, "I don't like the way she looks at you."

His smell as he whispered back, "I know. Her heart's as dark as night."

"I'll keep you safe."

"You always do."

Circles and circles and circles of dancing, clapping cutting through the air, the hum of the music sliding over their skin, just one more drink sizzling down Riku's throat, just one more song with Kairi and then Sora would be good and dance with the other guests waiting their turn, just a little bit closer and then Kairi would stop herself from hanging all over this boy she didn't know. They passed in and out of each other's orbit, and everyone else was merely a distant star, irrelevant to the overall gravitational pull. The night stretched on, bright and warm and overwhelming.

Kairi felt like she'd been spinning in circles for ages. Her head felt oddly light, or maybe it was heavy? She didn't know and didn't really care. She just wanted to sit down and watch people and maybe get another glass of that pink drink that fizzed like surf on the shore. So, still giggling at someone's joke, she floated her way into one of the many side rooms filled with entertainers and settled down on a couch. It took her a moment to even notice what this room was for - a man in a fine suit was standing at the front of it, relating a story or… something. She couldn't seem to care enough to pay attention. The three other guests in the room were all older, and listening rather intently. Oh, except for the couple flirting in the corner. She smiled and let her gaze drift around aimlessly as she tucked her feet up beside her.

A group of younger guests drifted in, laughing. Kairi turned their way and realized that Sora was in their center. He was leaning shoulder to shoulder on a boy Kairi was pretty sure she had danced with at least twice. A girl in a dress the color of a summer sky had her arm looped through Sora's, and two other girls and one more boy hovered around them. The whole group followed Sora, planets in the orbit of his sunny smile, as he drifted next to Kairi on the couch.

"Hey, Kairi!" he greeted her, grinning as he draped one arm over the back of their seat. He was tipped precariously sideways, shoulder almost brushing hers, with one ankle crossed over his opposite knee.

She giggled in response, naturally leaning towards him. "Hi, Sora. Hi everyone," She added, beaming around at his hangers-on. They settled around the couch, a few leaning on the back of it, some standing in front, and she couldn't for the life of her remember most of their names. It didn't seem to matter - they all just smiled and said "hello!" anyway. She turned her attention back to Sora.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"Oh yeah!" he agreed. "What are you doing in here? Is this guy just…" he paused, paying attention to the man at the far end of the room. "…talking?"

"Yeah, I think that's his thing. I just wanted to sit down for a minute."

For a moment his smile dimmed. "Everything okay?"

"Mm-hmm," she said, nodding.

"Good," he replied, instantly effervescent again.

One of the girls, the one in the blue dress, Cassandra was her name, tugged on his arm. "C'mon, Sora, let's go somewhere fun!"

"Yeah," the boy next to her agreed. "I heard there's fire eaters in the courtyard!"

"Psshh, kid stuff," Sora said, shrugging his shoulders, and he opened his mouth to say more but Kairi reached over and covered it with both hands.

"Sora!" she chastised, half giggling out his name as she overbalanced. "Order, remember?" She let go of his mouth to try to catch herself and instead ended up with her hands on his shoulders. Both of them laughed, his spikes of hair brushing the top of her head.

Another girl, Lavinia, said loudly, "Well, I want to go dance some more. Let's go dance again, Christian." Her words pulled the two Keyblade wielders apart, though Sora's arm was still behind Kairi's shoulders on the back of the couch.

A few others voiced their agreement, and some related different plans and soon the whole group was gathering to leave. The boy Sora had been leaning on, the one with kind brown eyes and tight black curls, hesitated.

"You coming, Sora?"

"Nah, I'm gonna stick with Kairi for a bit. Go have fun with the others!"

"Alright," he said, shrugging. But Kairi couldn't help noticing him glancing back over his shoulder as he went.

"What's his name again?" she asked.

Sora looked almost offended at the question, but he answered, "Thomas. You really don't remember?"

Something about that made her laugh and shake her head. "No, but I've heard so many new names tonight. There's no way I could remember them all!" Sora laughed along, but he flicked her on the forehead right between her eyebrows.

"Ouch!" she protested, shoving him even though it didn't hurt at all. This inspired another fit of giggles between them, both leaning over with mirth until their foreheads brushed. Kairi opened her eyes and realized that he was close enough she could easily kiss him. Immediately, she turned bright red and sat up.

Sora let out a low chuckle, and something about the depth of his voice and the smirk on his face made her look away. He turned his head, rubbing the back of his neck while he took a deep breath.

"This is fun," he mused, glancing back at her out of the corners of his eyes.

"It is," Kairi agreed, smiling at him. He couldn't tell if her smile was nervous or not.

"Seen Riku lately?"

"Hmmmm, not for a bit. He was dancing with Patricia and then I got caught up with… oh, what was his name…? Desmond! Right, Desmond, and then I came in here."

Sora couldn't help chuckling again as she rambled. "You're drunk," he practically giggled.

"What?!" Kairi sputtered, instantly grabbing a throw pillow and bopping him on the head with it. She nearly missed, and the blow glanced off his temple and his shoulder.

"You are!" Sora laughed.

"And how would you know?" she shot back.

He shrugged. "I've been drunk before," he stated, too proud about it for her liking.

"When? You never drank at home. Your mom would've killed you!"

"Pirates," was all he said in response. His smirk made her almost as furious as his words, or word, did.

"You've met pirates?! Actual pirates?" Kairi sputtered, indignant and excited all at once. She'd been the one to learn of pirates first, when they were eight. It was in a history book she'd snuck out of the Mayor's study, and she'd instantly fallen in love with the idea. Her enthusiasm had been infectious, and for over a year pirates was all they would play. Even once they got older, it was a favorite game. "And you didn't take us straight there?!"

"We'll go, I promise. But I had to show you mermaids first," he added in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning towards her.

She folded her arms, unimpressed. "But I haven't seen a mermaid. Ariel's human now."

"Still counts!" Sora insisted.

"Does not."

They scowled at each other for a moment, pushing their expressions until they were as exaggerated as possible. Sora crossed his eyes and Kairi dissolved into a pile of giggling shrieks, holding her sides as she laughed. Sora joined in, head tipped back, headless of the world around them. When their mirth finally subsided, Kairi shifted so that she was leaning against him, head resting on his shoulder, legs tucked up on the couch. She let out a contented sigh while Sora fought with the urge to hold his breath in case she decided to move. His arm was still sprawled over the back of the couch, and he let his hand just lightly drift to her shoulder ever so carefully. The only reaction he got was Kairi closing her eyes.

"Maybe I'm a little drunk," the redheaded girl admitted, eyes still closed.

"I definitely am," Sora replied, the faint chuckle in his words reverberating between them.

"I hope Riku's having a good time."

"Of course he is," he replied instantly. "It's his night."

"Exactly." She paused, then opening her eyes, she added, "Maybe we should go check on him."

Sora squeezed her shoulder. "He's fine, Kairi. He'll come get us if he needs us."

"Okay," she said, eyes drifting closed again. In no time at all, she was asleep. Sora stayed still, watching the people who wandered in and out, happy to let her rest right there. Riku found them like that, and he couldn't help shaking his head.

"She's asleep?" he asked as Sora opened his eyes and lifted his head.

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Should we get her upstairs?"

"Maybe," Sora agreed. Together, they gently shook Kairi awake. She pouted a bit, but eventually agreed to go back to her room. They walked her there, with Sora giving hushed instructions to not lay on her back. "Cure'll stop vomiting, but it doesn't help hangovers," he informed her as they reached her door. She hugged them both good-night and shut the door behind her.

The boys wandered back to the party at a languid pace. "Since when do you know so much about drinking?" Riku asked.

"Pirates," Sora shrugged, expecting another burst of surprise or outrage.

"Ah," was all Riku said, nodding once. After a moment of silence he added, "Hook liked to drink too. But I wouldn't touch his stuff."

"Oh," his friend murmured, thinking. "Yeah… these pirates were different."

"How?" Riku asked. After his time aboard Captain Hook's ship, pirates had reached a level about on par with sewer rats in his esteem.

"They weren't cowards, for one thing," Sora said right away. "They break curses and fight monsters and- " he cut himself off, realizing that the next thing he was going to say was "fall in love". He looked down, chest suddenly tight.

"And?" his best friend asked, looking at him.

Sora gave him his best clueless smile. "I forgot what I was gonna say," he lied.

"Drunk," Riku teased, shoving him down the last two steps. Sora just laughed and grabbed his hand, towing him out of the dim stairwell into the blinding brightness of the party. They drifted around, dancing with a few people before meeting back up in the courtyard to watch the fire eaters. Once they were done and the sword swallowers took over, the boys turned their feet towards the empty grounds. Moving by silent agreement, they wound their way through the castle wall to the top of a boulder covered slope. Effortlessly, they perched up on a rock facing the ocean waves. The moonlight dancing on the water was enough to entertain them for awhile.

"Remind you of anything?" Riku asked after a moment, thinking of a different rocky beach. Sora glanced at him and grinned.

"Maybe, he said, voice lilting. "It is pretty similar."

"The waves sound the same," Riku agreed.

Sora looked out over the ocean, a content smile on his face as he took in a deep breath. "Yeah," he agreed, nodding. "No matter where we go, they always do." He was rewarded with the press of Riku's shoulder as his best friend leaned on him ever so slightly. When they were kids, they had constantly been touching, curling up to sleep or scrambling over each other to reach something tall. They greeted each other with big hugs and play fought in flailing tangles of limbs and never thought anything of it. But growing up had changed so many things, and even on that long ago beach they'd kept their shoulders apart, hands negotiating the space around one another.

He was brought back to what he was seeing by a flash of blue. There on the horizon was his not-so-friendly follower, the blinding cobalt glow steadily coming closer. Sora squinted, seeing something strange in the normally blurry light - a patch of darker color and a stronger sense of shape. It was almost… bird like. And that dark patch? It looked a little like ey-

With a hiss, Sora dropped like a stone, slumping forward off the rock they were sitting on.

"Sora!" Riku lunged forward, arms closing on air just a beat behind the other boy. Sora hit the slope of boulders and rolled till he came to a stop at the base of the hill.

Riku was there a second later, eyes wide at the sight. His best friend was grimacing in pain, curled in a tight ball with his hands on his shoulders. He didn't even try to get up from where he'd landed. Riku kneeled next to him, placing a hand on Sora's back.

"Ah!" Sora cried out, flinching as Riku jerked his hand away.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. He searched his friend, and then the area around them, but couldn't see or sense any threat. Nothing had struck him - the world was just as peaceful as it always had been.

"I- I'm fine," Sora hissed through gritted teeth. He didn't even attempt to get up.

Riku didn't bother to respond to one of the most pitiful lies he'd ever heard Sora utter - it was so irrelevant he'd honestly barely registered it. What wasn't irrelevant were the tiny pin-pricks of blood slowly appearing under Sora's fingers. Riku summoned his Keyblade.

"Heal," he said, voice low, still scanning the area around them. Golden flowers bloomed over the fallen boy, but nothing else happened. He stayed curled on his side, and the blood spots continued to grow. Riku waited one heartbeat, then two, jaw tight.

"Sora, what hurts?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm even as he curled over him. His Keyblade was still drawn.

Sora tried to speak and groaned instead. Then, "I'll be o- okay. Just… give me a second." He hissed in another sharp breath, then slowly opened his eyes to peer up at Riku. The moon silhouetted his face, but even through the shadows Sora could make out the grim set of his jaw, the fear in his eyes. "Shoulders," he added, unable to make a sentence out of it.

"Can you move?" Riku asked, taking Sora by the wrists. Sora nodded, so Riku carefully pulled his arms away and began working on the buttons of his ruined white suit coat. His hands had been pressed tight over his collar bones, and blotches of blood were revealed where they had been. Slowly, Riku helped him sit up and untangle himself from his sash and suit. Sora said nothing, biting off hissing winces, eyes closed and flinching.

The white undershirt he was still wearing had absorbed the bulk of the blood, but there were thin rivulets scrawling sideways over the base of Sora's neck from how he had been laying. Gently, gently Riku helped him pull that off and over his head, mindful to not rip forming scabs. He used the clean bottom half to mop up the remaining droplets of blood and was relieved to find no major wounds.

What was there was far more puzzling. Beneath the blood, patches of Sora's skin where now a dark black. A thin black rectangle, filled with a pattern of triangles, began at the base of his neck and traced the tops of his shoulders, stopping right at the beginning of his arms. Over each of his scapula jutted a long, narrow triangle. The tip of it was separated by a line of blank skin. Six similar triangles, three per side, curved over his collar bones and the top of his chest, each also with a separate tip. The middle shape of each set was slightly longer than the others. Additionally, a series of thick circles, three in total, ringed both deltoids. A few of the larger details still trickled blood, but it wasn't much.

To Riku, the marks reminded him of targets and claws. Between their shapes and how they had appeared they had fear churning in his gut. He stayed crouched, protective next to Sora as he scanned their surroundings, still looking for the threat.

As for Sora, the pain had mostly subsided by the time they'd gotten his shirts off. Still, he felt dizzy and exhausted. Riku's cure spell had, at least, healed any bruising from the fall, but hadn't effected the strange marks at all. He peered down at the odd shapes now etched into his skin. His stomach felt cold and heavy, his throat was tight, and one hand went up to fiddle with the earring in his left ear. He looked out over the waves automatically. The blue glow, that bird thing, was gone. This should have made him feel better, but it didn't. He looked back down at his skin and realized what they reminded him of - Captain Jack's tattoos.

"Guess I'm a pirate now," he muttered to himself.

"This isn't funny, Sora," Riku hissed in response, not looking at him. Sora's head shot up, and he took in Riku's glare with a clenched jaw of his own.

"What do we do now?" he finally asked, realizing he had no clue how they could get back to the castle. He was shirtless and bloody and covered in marks no one had ever seen. They'd panic the second they saw him.

Riku glanced at him, looking him up and down with a cold, removed expression that Sora knew was just him thinking. He met his friend's gaze evenly enough, but one hand strayed up to his opposite shoulder, rubbing it subconsciously. Immediately, he winced, regretting the action. Everything was bruised and sore.

"We need to get you inside," the older boy said, voice low.

"I know that, genius," Sora snapped, still wincing from his own carelessness. Then, "Sorry."

Riku just shook his head. He stood and held out a hand to help Sora stand. The younger boy took it, and it was a good thing too - he staggered and swayed the moment he reached his feet. If he hadn't been holding on to Riku, he would've toppled right over. Together, they edged through the darkness around the party and scrambled in a second story window with almost no incident. (They'd tell Ariel about the vase they knocked over in the morning.) Slowly, carefully, they worked through the bustling mansion until they made it to Sora's room. So many times they had to duck around a corner as people trickled back to their rooms to sleep. But, despite it all, they made it unseen.

Ignoring his protests, Riku insisted on cleaning Sora's tattoos, scrubbing carefully to rinse off the blood and anything else that might have stuck to him. It hurt like hell, but he bit his tongue. By the time that was done, the sun was peeking over the horizon and they were both wet and exhausted. Riku trailed off to his own room to sleep, and Sora curled up on his bed, not bothering to close his curtains against the dawn.

* * *

Notes:

Alkjfoasdhgoaisdngoa everyone's responses to last chapter were so nice! I appreciate you all so much xoxoxoxo

We finally reached the gala! I hope you enjoyed it - our kids sure did! Well, until they didn't. ;) Another chapter will definitely be happening next week, (albeit a short one) so hold on for that.

Chapter title comes from Bastille's song with the same name. It's usage here is also a nod to Cinderella in a way, and maybe a little, teensy bit to Ouran High School Host Club? I almost subtitled the chapter "Until the day it becomes a pumpkin" which I believe is an episode title in the english dub. In the end though I reworked it to make a hair more sense in context.

Shout-out to a KH writing discord group I'm a part of for helping me with the tattoo section. I've not gotten one myself yet so I had them quality check it for me and make sure it wasn't too exaggerated. If any of you are here, know that I appreciate you even if I am kinda the group ghost lol

I'm super curious what you all think of this strange blue thing and its mysterious gift. More on that soon... but not next week.

Hope everyone is holding up okay - stay safe and I'll see you again soon!


	13. Memory 005: Sora and Kairi

The sun was setting on Destiny Islands. The late summer evening had a chill to it, seeping up from the ocean depths. But Sora wasn't paying any attention to that. All of his friends were here. King Mickey and Aqua were cheering on Terra, Roxas and Riku as they raced. Ven, Isa and Lea were playing frisbee. Xion and Naminé were crouched by the waterline, scooping up shells. Hayner, Pence and Olette were building sand sculptures with Donald and Goofy. And Kairi - Kairi was walking up to him with a smile on her face and her hands behind her back.

"Riku's gonna have us help with dinner soon," she said.

Sora looped his hands behind his head. "You think so?" he asked. He didn't figure Riku would be thinking about food in the middle of a race.

Kairi nodded, turning to stand next to him and watch their friends. "It'll get cold once the sun sets. And if he's having us a build a fire, we might as well cook with it," she explained.

"Since when were you the one thinking ahead?" he teased.

Kairi giggled, and Sora knew by the sound that she was up to something. "Want to go get firewood before he has to tell us?" she suggested.

"Sure," he agreed, grinning in return. She turned, ducking into the shack nearby. Sora followed her up the stairs and across the bridge to the little circle of trees. There wasn't much firewood to be found here, but that hadn't really been the point anyway. On reflex, they walked to the paopu tree, perching in their usual spots.

"I wanted to thank you," Kairi said, head bowed. Sora watched her, stomach in knots, palms sweaty. He couldn't help remembering the last time she'd pulled him up here alone. They'd shared a paopu then, and if he had to guess he'd say that was the only reason they were able to be here now.

"For what?" he asked when she didn't continue. She looked at him, expression equal shares puzzled and amused. Then shaking her head, she went back to staring at the sand below their feet.

Her voice was soft as she explained, "You brought me back."

"Oh…" he replied, looking away. The sun was dying the ocean a blinding orange that refracted and reverberated off the low hanging clouds. "You don't have to thank me for that."

Kairi didn't like his tone of voice. "Of course I do," she protested, hand over her heart as she studied the hunch in his shoulders and the sad set of his eyes. "You saved my life."

He waved her off, still not meeting her eyes. "You did the same for me. It's no big deal."

"Then what's that face for?" she prodded, crossing her arms. He turned then, giving her his big, characteristic smile. But she could see how it didn't reach his eyes, how it didn't smooth out the wrinkle on his forehead. She tilted her head, frowning and he banished the fake smile.

"I'm a little worried," Sora admitted.

"About what?"

"I…" he paused, looking down, "miiiight have misused the power of waking, a little bit. And I think," he paused, correcting himself, "I know that there's going to be a price to pay, eventually." He glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes and saw the alarm on her face. "It's okay," he reassured her, waving his hands. "I'll be fine, promise."

"Do you know what will happen?" Kairi asked, not terribly reassured by this. It was very like Sora to downplay something to keep her from worrying. If she wasn't so anxious she probably would have been angry about it.

He took in a short breath, bracing himself. "I have a guess," he admitted reluctantly. At least he didn't drop her gaze this time, Kairi noticed. He continued, "But I think I can stop him."

"Him?" She demanded, leaning forward.

"Ahh, did I say 'him'?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his neck. _Shit shit shit._ "I meant 'it' - I think I can stop it. You know, from happening and stuff." God, he hoped that was more convincing than it sounded to his own ears.

Kairi fixed him with an expression that was almost scarily Riku-like — one eyebrow arched all the way up, eyes and mouth coordinated in an unamused, perfectly superior frown. Clearly it wasn't.

"It'll be fine," he repeated, insistent now.

She deflated a little. "You're not gonna tell me what 'it' is?" she asked, uncrossing her arms, shoulders slumping.

"It wouldn't do any good," he admitted, shaking his head.

"I can help," she insisted, reaching for his hand. Sora turned his head away, and she stopped herself, fingers curling back moments from touching him. "We all can help you," she repeated.

"I don't think so," he admitted quietly. "Not this time." The only way they could help him was by doing something he would never allow. He wasn't even going to present it as an option.

Silence hung between them, trapped in the emptiness separating their fingers and the dead air behind their teeth. Kairi looked out at the waves, fear sunk into her skin.

"Do you regret it?" she whispered, barely able to get the words out.

Sora jerked his head around, grabbing her hand off the paopu tree with both of his. "No," he insisted, clenching it so tight she could feel her bones shift. "No, never."

"You just seem… sad."

Blue eyes, usually warm like a mid-day sky, searched her face. He was hesitant, but he offered, "I'm not proud of how I did it… but I would do it again if I had to. However many times it took to bring you home."

She took a deep breath, then laid her free hand over both of his. "There's a lot you're not telling me, isn't there?" He nodded once, so she continued, " You can keep your secrets, but I'm still going to thank you. Thank you, Sora, for saving my life and bringing me home."

She didn't expect the way his face crumpled, shoulders curling in, tears welling over. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He was shaking, but he made no sound, not even a sniff or a whimper. Kairi rubbed his back and hated the one jagged breath he choked in, and even more the way his breathing stopped immediately after.

"Breathe, Sora. It's okay," she reassured, still rubbing between his shoulder blades. She was rewarded with shaky sobs, and for a moment she just rocked him while he cried. That didn't last long. Soon, he was struggling out of her grip, wiping at his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Sorry," he croaked out. She shushed him, wiping at a stray tear.

"It's alright," she soothed. "A lot's happened."

"You're telling me," he said, words coming out around a rough chuckle. Then, "Thanks, Kairi."

"Anytime."

They sat there for a long time, just holding each other's hands until the tightness in Sora's chest unwound and he could breathe normally again. By the time they made it back to their friends, the fire was already built. Fresh caught fish roasted on spits seasoned with seaside herbs and wild onions and interspersed with thick slabs of mushroom. Riku jostled Sora's shoulders, and Roxas teased him about sneaking off with Kairi and soon the world was right where it should be again, with one laughing, sky-eyed boy in the center of it.

* * *

Notes:

It's dangerous to go alone, take this.

Ah, in all seriousness though, I know this is very short compared to normal chapters. It's here very on purpose. It will probably be a bit before I can post again, so I thank you all in advanced for your patience.

I'd like to reassure you that you in no way, shape, or form have the context to understand the blue light/tattoo thing from last chapter. I've given you a couple very subtle hints and am impressed with how far you've gone with them (that's also a hint), but there's a lot you don't know, so be easy on yourselves. (And me, though you've all been very patient. Thank you!) I promise it will all make sense eventually.

I'd also like to reiterate that this _is_ an alternate universe - Re:Mind doesn't exist here, as the major plot was developed around July of 2019 or so. I'm utilizing some characterization we got from that (bless the SoKai content) but beyond that this is all self-indulgent bullshit that I came up with mostly in the shower almost a full year ago. I am borrowing from some headcanons I've stumbled upon in the fandom, but nothing very concrete there either. So please feel free to bail now if that doesn't sound like fun to you.

Lastly thank you all for your wonderful comments and reviews and questions, etc. They always brighten my day, even though I haven't had the spoons to answer them individually yet. I will, I promise. I am honestly floored by all the love you guys have given this very slowly rolling freight train of self-indulgence. Thank you thank you thank you.

Stay home if you can, stay safe, and see you all soon. Love you all!


	14. Leave a Trace

Atlantica part 5

Rattle the stars

* * *

Kairi woke up to Riku asleep on her floor. He was laying on his side at the foot of her bed, head pillowed on his arm, not even a blanket tucked over him. That was worrisome enough, but she had woken up, gotten out of bed and started walking towards the bathroom when she'd noticed him — and he was still asleep. Riku was a light sleeper, possibly the lightest sleeper. He woke up at a sharp breeze, at the cry of a bird miles away. Kairi couldn't actively recall a morning the three of them were together where she hadn't woken up to him staring at the ceiling. The boy missed nothing. Yet here she was, walking over and standing by his side, and he hadn't stirred.

_Maybe he's just hungover,_ she thought, trying to find a reason that didn't mean something was horribly wrong. There had to be a reason - a normal, not troubling reason.

But Sora wasn't with him. Maybe it was the heaviness of sleep still hanging around her, or maybe the lingering headache that throbbed through her skull was putting her on edge, but Sora's absence chased fear into her stomach and down to the soles of her feet. She inhaled sharply, hissing more than she meant to. Riku didn't stir. She found herself staring at his side, watching for breath billowing slowly in and out. He was breathing, thank goodness, but that didn't settle her nerves much.

Even this worried, though, she wasn't waking Riku up in her pajamas if she could help it. The long, billowy white nightgown she'd stumbled into last night was ever so slightly sheer, and he was shirtless, and she really needed to use the bathroom. So she might as well get dressed and brush her teeth before she dealt with whatever this was.

The routine of getting ready soothed her nerves a little bit. By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, she felt much more like herself. Riku still hadn't awoken, but he had moved a little, curling to hide his eyes in his arm against the sunlight streaming into the room. Kairi padded over and crouched down next to him. She gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

"Riku," she murmured. He shot upright, Keyblade out and at her throat before he'd actually opened his eyes, weight held up on his other hand. Kairi started back a little, but it wasn't the sword itself that she was spooked by. Something had definitely happened if drawing his weapon was his first instinct.

In all of a second, he opened his eyes, squinting against the brightness of the room. It took him another heartbeat to realize where he was and who he was looking at. Braveheart vanished in a flash of light that made them both wince.

"Sorry," he said, voice thick with sleep.

Kairi shook her head. "It's okay. What happened? Where's Sora?"

Riku shifted, sitting with his back against the foot of her bed, both legs sprawled out in front of him. He took his time, trying to find words to describe what happened last night. It almost felt like he'd dreamed it. He answered the part of her questions that was safe.

"He's in his room."

Of all the times for him to go monosyllabic on her, this was not a good one. She felt her pulse along her temples, each beat an annoying throb of mild pain. Her jaw hurt too, and she realized she was clenching it tightly. Relaxing that, she took a slow breath.

"What happened?" she repeated.

"What makes you think anything happened?" he asked, sullen, frowning. His head hurt and his mouth was dry. He tasted stale booze and sleep and the smell of whatever products Kairi had used getting ready - florals and mint. He wanted to get up and run straight to Sora's room, but he couldn't make either of them more worried than they already were. He wanted to get up and shut her stupid curtains against the sun, but he didn't want her to know he had a hangover in the first place.

Kairi sighed, trying to mask her frustration. Her fake smile was so thin and small, it did nothing to hide that her eyebrows were set low and irritated. "You wouldn't wake up," she explained. Then, voice teasing, struggling to be normal, "Are you hungover?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "Don't act so smug. If I am, you've got it worse."

"Riku," she admonished, hands clenched atop her legs. "You need to tell me what's going on."

The tone of her voice sobered him, making him finally meet her violet eyes. The worry in them made his stomach clench. What could he say to her? How the hell was he supposed to explain this?

"Sora's alright," he began, quietly, "But something did happen last night." He rose to his feet, wondering when his limbs got so heavy. He kept talking as she stood up beside him, "You should just come see."

* * *

Kairi woke Sora up. Not on purpose - she was yelling at Riku. The words were hazy through his growing awareness. His head was splitting.

"-get tattoos?! Here?! They don't even know about GERMS or BACTERIA. He could have blood poisoning or WORSE. What were you -" she cut herself off as Sora groaned, sitting up.

"Why are you so loud?" he demanded, rubbing his eyes. Lifting his arms hurt. Actually, everything hurt. He blinked groggily. Riku was standing at the end of his bed, fully dressed, arms folded. God, it was infuriating how put together he always was. He didn't even look tired. Kairi wasn't any better - she was perfect as per usual, in one of her simpler dresses with a skirt that flowed over her hips like water. It was completely unfair of them to ambush him like this when he hadn't even had a chance to fully wake up. He frowned at both of them through narrowed eyes.

"Sorry," Kairi mumbled, at least looking the faintest bit guilty.

"No you're not," Riku pointed out uncharitably. He didn't appreciate getting lectured. "And we didn't go and get them," he added, chin lifting slightly as he stared her down. Kairi frowned, confusion on her face. She glanced between the boys, then opted to sit down on the edge of Sora's bed.

"What happened?" she asked them, gaze finally landing on Sora. If anyone was going to explain, it would probably all come spilling out of him first.

He sighed, looking down and leaning away from her. "That blue thing came back and-"

"Blue thing?" Riku interrupted, eyebrows furrowed. "What blue thing?"

Sora lifted his head, equally confused and frowning. "What do you mean? It was there again, but this time it was a bird. You had to have seen it - it's been getting closer every night."

"Sora, what are you talking about?" Kairi asked, laying a hand on his knee.

"You didn't notice?" he asked.

"I've never seen a blue bird, at night or otherwise."

Sora shook his head. "It wasn't a bird until last night. It was just a… like a light, far away." Riku and Kairi exchanged a look.

"You're saying that's what did this to you?" Riku asked.

Sora shrugged a shoulder. "I think so. I was looking at it when this happened," he gestured vaguely to his chest and shoulders. "Then it was gone afterwards."

Kairi followed his hand, taking in the blurring black marks. Riku was doing the same. Though they were streaky today, the black tattoos still had a readily identifiable shape.

"They look like talons," he murmured, jaw tight, fists clenched. The others looked up at him, startled.

"They do?" Sora asked, voice jumping up an octave and almost cracking. Normally Kairi would have teased him, but there was nothing funny about it now.

She was still missing something. "So something Riku didn't see gave you those tattoos? What were you doing while it happened?"

"It's not like I just sat there," Sora protested. "It was really fast. Riku and I were just talking and then…" he trailed off, embarrassed. Some Keyblade wielder he was, getting knocked on his ass by a weird glowy bird that shouldn't have even been close enough to touch him. His fists clenched in the sheet tangled around his legs.

Riku filled in for him, "He just fell over. They must have happened all at once," he added, shaking his head. "I never saw anything touch him."

Kairi felt her throat close. She wasn't sure what was worse - that Riku hadn't been able to see or sense anything, or that they hadn't even bothered to wake her up and tell her.

"What if it's still here?" she asked, clutching her hand around the white stone on her necklace. The feeling of its familiar magic usually calmed her, but not this time. Riku didn't answer, just set his mouth in a grim line.

"I think it's gone," Sora replied, not looking at either of them. Still, he felt the pressure of their gazes as they waited for him to continue. "You really never saw it?" he asked, lifting plaintive eyes in Riku's direction.

"No, I didn't," he confirmed, once again shaking his head.

"But it was huge…" Sora asserted, voice trailing off as he hung his head. Kairi reached over and gently rubbed his back between his shoulder blades, mindful of his marks. He flinched away from her hands. "Don't do that," he whispered, head still low. Kairi dropped her hand back into her lap, hating the way his shoulders curled in and away from her.

"I think we should leave today," Riku said bluntly. The other two looked up at him, surprised.

Sora nodded. "I don't want to give Ariel any trouble."

"And we don't know if that thing will come back here," Kairi added, clutching her necklace again.

Sora shook his head, glancing down. "It's after me. I'm the only one that could see it."

"You don't think… This isn't…" Kairi trailed off, covering her mouth with one hand. Riku's fists clenched as they both looked at Sora.

"Yeah…" he said slowly, looking back at Kairi. "We knew something was coming," he added.

Riku shook his head and turned abruptly away. "_We_ didn't," he growled, back ridged. Then, over his shoulder, "You did?"

"Hades doesn't just let things go," Sora mumbled, looking away. Riku whirled around.

"Who's Hades?" Kairi asked.

_"What did you do?"_ Riku demanded, speaking over her question. He'd met the Lord of the Dead only briefly while working for Maleficent, but that was enough.

Sora glared back at him, and he'd never seen such a stubborn look in those familiar blue eyes. It made him shift his weight backwards. And then he remembered he had seen that look before, one other time.

_There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!_

Riku lifted his chin, sizing up his best friend. Neither of them answered Kairi.

"Who is Hades?" she repeated, more forcefully this time.

"He's the God of the Dead," Riku answered, not breaking his stare-down with Sora.

"Oh…" Kairi murmured, looking down. Her shoulders drooped, hands hovering by her heart. Sora quickly put a hand on her shoulder, trying to catch her eye.

"It's fine. I'll be okay - I promise," he said, smiling.

"I'm not stupid," she grumbled, but she didn't pull away. Still, the comment made Sora drop his hand.

"I don't know what'll happen," the brown haired boy admitted, hanging his head.

"You said it was blue?" Riku asked, voice more gentle now.

Sora nodded. His eyes widened with a realization. "Kinda like his weird flame hair," he explained, gesturing above his head.

"Then we'll just have to be ready," Riku said, straightening up. The other two looked at him, and Sora grinned.

"I've beaten Hades loads of times," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "He's a push-over - we'll be fine, you'll see," he added, smiling at Kairi.

* * *

It was only after his friends left that Sora was truly allowed to get up and ready himself for the day. Washing his hands and face in a porcelain basin, he studied his reflection in a nearby mirror. He traced his fingertips over the three long marks crossing his left collar bone. The excess ink blooming around them reminded him of darkness, thick and pungent, sliding from his fingers and dripping from his hair. For half a second, he thought he caught his eyes flash red. Setting his jaw, he straightened up, shoulders rolling back.

_Whatever these marks mean, it doesn't matter. I won't let anyone separate me from Kairi and Riku ever again. No matter what._

Fists clenched, he threw on the clothes the Good Fairies had given him. It was time to go.

* * *

Compared to Zootopia, their good-byes were brief. Riku had gathered Ariel and Eric into a small drawing room away from the other gala guests. When Sora entered the room, Ariel was hurriedly talking Kairi through a few spells they didn't get to. Riku and Eric were shaking hands.

"Be careful out there," the prince urged.

"We will," Riku assured him with a steady nod.

"Don't worry," Sora added, striding up. "We'll be back before you know it!" Eric smiled, shaking his hand good-bye as well. As they spoke, Ariel and Kairi embraced.

"I promise we'll be back," Kairi reassured her.

"I know you will," Ariel said. "But it's hard not to worry."

"I'll keep them in line," Kairi promised, smiling. Taking both of the other girl's hands, she added, "We can handle this."

Ariel nodded. "I'd feel better if I know what 'this' was," she grumbled, "But I know you three can tackle anything life throws at you."

"Sorry to leave so soon," Sora said, turning to the girls now.

"Oh, Sora… It's all right," Ariel reassured him even though her eyebrows were still furrowed. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Since when am I not careful?" he asked, spreading his hands in mock disbelief.

Ariel laughed and elbowed him. "Since ever!" Throwing her arms around his neck, she closed her eyes tight. "We'll miss you, all three of you."

Hesitating a moment, he patted her back once or twice. "We'll miss you too," he said, surprised to find his throat felt thick, clogged with feelings he'd rather ignore. Ariel pulled back, quickly moving to give Riku a hug as well. Kairi and Eric embraced, and then that was it. It was time to go. They gathered up their things from their rooms, stuffing bags and hangers full of clothes into the little lockers along the back of the gummi ship. Ariel and Kairi hugged one more time.

"Don't forget to plant a tree for me," Kairi asked the erstwhile mermaid.

"Alright! I will! Right here," she asserted.

"Thank you!"

"Thanks for everything!" Sora added, waving. They scrambled back into the ship, waving through the glass as Riku readied them for take-off.

"Hey, I thought I was driving?" Sora asked.

"Too slow," was all Riku said in response. Pouting, Sora flopped himself in a passenger seat. Kairi shook her head and belted herself in, turning to wave at Ariel and Eric still watching from the beach.

* * *

After a brief discussion, they decided to head to the Land of Departure. The marks needed to be examined in person, and it wouldn't hurt to have extra muscle if Hades caught up to them soon. It would also serve as a reminder of what they were really working for - something Riku thought they desperately needed after the gala. Wonderful as it had been, that night wasn't their reality. It was time to wake up.

Short of accurate star maps or a true course, he had to resort to more unusual navigation methods.

"Just follow your heart," Sora had offered, like it was obvious. That didn't exactly explain anything, but Riku was able to infer something from it, at least. He pointed them in the direction that felt "right", thinking about Aqua and her training. Her recent mentorship made a strong enough connection that he was soon certain they were heading the right way. Still, the journey felt agonizingly slow. All he could think about was the devious literal deity chasing at their heels, every heartbeat urging _away away away._

It was a clear day?— night? — whatever for sailing. The gummi ship cut through the thin atmosphere of space, engines humming quietly. Behind him, Sora had fallen asleep, still upright in his chair, head lolling sideways. Kairi was watching the stars, legs tucked up beside her.

When his eyes started drifting closed hours later, Riku set the ship on autopilot and rose from his seat. With a gentle shake, he roused Sora.

"Your turn, slacker," he murmured, a smirk in the words and the corner of his mouth.

Sora grumbled, stretching without opening his eyes. "That's 'Captain Slacker' to you," he groused, the final word getting swallowed up in a yawn.

They traded spots. "Where are we?" Sora asked as he fastened his seatbelt. He scanned the ship's readouts, flying an old habit to him now.

"Follow your heart," was all Riku replied.

* * *

Hours later, the gummi ship continued soaring easily through space's indigo expanse. An incessant beeping filled the quiet cabin, pulling Riku and Kairi from their thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked as Sora frowned, studying the alert that had come up on screen.

"I don't know. It's saying something about a-" His sentence was cut off as the whole ship rocked sharply to one side, throwing the teenagers against their armrests. Looking out the cabin's glass dome, they caught sight of a massive explosion. What had once been a nearby star was now a wall of flame hurtling towards them. Gritting his teeth, Sora wrestled the spacecraft around. He opened the thrusters wide, trying to get them clear of the blast.

Fiery hail whirled around them, pinging off the ship's defenses. They scorched the wings, clipping off one of the cannons in their wake. Each small impact rang out loudly in the enclosed space. Larger hits had the teenagers gritting their teeth, holding on as the ship jerked and rolled. Sora was dodging what he could, but between waves of heat and the sheer number of projectiles there was only so much he could do.

The cabin echoed with the screeching of several alarms, including the proximity alert. A massive meteor was close on their tail, approaching quickly on the crest of another magilla wave. Sora leaned forward, bearing down on the yoke. "C'mon, c'mon c'mon," he hissed, urging them forward. The meteor loomed closer, filling Riku and Kairi's vision as they turned in their seats. The alarms blared louder as Sora spun the remaining cannons around and began firing on the chunk of rock. They hardly seemed to make a dent in it.

Kairi clutched her necklace as the molten fissures on the meteor's surface came into sharp relief. The hiss-crack of flames undercut the Highwind's noises as heat filled the cabin. Riku drew his Keyblade, and Kairi followed suit. But before they could cast any protective spells, the meteor began rolling backwards. The thousands of flaming star fragments surrounding the ship did too, whizzing back towards where they came. With a sharp creak, the gummi ship strained against the pull, thrusters still at their limits. Riku and Kairi stared at where the star once was as the meteor was yanked out of view. Two disks of pure flame were coalescing into an s-shaped curve. At the center of these tongues of fire, something was swirling, sucking everything nearby into its black heart.

"Sora!" Riku barked, trying to both get his friend's attention and urge him onward. Sora's head snapped up, blue eyes wide as he took in the scene. The black hole's draw increased, sucking the little ship towards itself, having already absorbed most of its self-created space debris.

In the distance, Kairi spotted something else caught in the pull. Its trajectory brought it closer quite quickly. "Another ship!" she called out, pointing for the benefit of both boys. It was a much larger vessel, and looked strangely like a frigate, despite its current use as a spacecraft.

"Can we get to it in time?" Sora asked, knuckles white as he fought to keep the gummi ship steady.

"What are you thinking?" Riku demanded.

"We can pull it out with us," Sora said, grunting as a wave of heat slammed against the ship. It rocked them back the other direction, pushing them away from the black hole as it crested over them.

"If we make it out ourselves," Kairi brought up, face pale in the red light of the dying star.

Not bothering to respond, Sora took the second of reprieve to hit a few buttons on the ship's control panel, opening up a greater reserve of power. He glanced back at the other ship. It was hurtling close enough now that he could make out fragile silhouettes of the crew members in the rigging. They scuttled along the beams and ropes, unfurling glowing golden sails.

Another wave of heat and flame rippled out from the center of the black hole, buffeting both ships. The teenagers winced as they were thrown about in their seats. They were safe in their closed cockpit, secure in their harnesses. The crew of the other craft wasn't so lucky. One hulking shape of a man dangled in the abyss of space, precariously attached. His red coat gleamed in the blackness behind him.

Watching as he fell, Sora was already turning the ship. He leaned over the yoke, pushing the spacecraft to its limits as he raced with the gravitational pull to help. They were mere feet away when the rope tying the man to the ship snapped. Flailing, he hurtled through the dark, sucked almost instantly into the black hole. As he passed, the three teenagers caught a glimpse of his face, eyes wide, mouth opened in a startled yell.

"No!" The word ripped from Sora's throat, loud and raw. He yanked the ship up short, teeth bared. His knuckles were white around the steering mechanism.

Riku undid his harness, swaying with the rolling waves of heat that continued to pound against them. He put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "We need to get out of here now."

All three sets of eyes took in the rapidly approaching black hole. Its dark expanse filled the entire horizon, ringed in terrible flame.

Sora snapped his eyes to Riku's, brows set low, jaw clenched. "We're not leaving the other ship."

"How are we going to save them?"

"I have a plan. Hold us steady," Sora ordered, shifting his grip so that Riku could take the left side of the yoke from him. "Kairi, you too. I need both your help."

She was already on her feet, hurrying to Sora's other side. She took the right handle, bracing herself with an arm around the back of Sora's seat. Riku did the same. As they settled into position, they passed the imperiled frigate. Sora crouched in his chair, facing the back of the cockpit as he summoned his keyblade.

"Give me strength!" He roared, clasping the hilt with both hands as he pointed it at the other spaceship. Kairi and Riku clutched the steering wheel, eyes blazing as magic welled up within them. The cabin began to glow as a complex spell circle etched itself beneath their feet. Columns of light shone from each person before angling into the Kingdom Key, coalescing as they shot through the tip of the blade. The beam passed through the glass unhindered and enveloped the other ship. Connecting them like a rope, it drew the crafts together even as a large, final wave of energy crashed into them from the dying star.

That last wave, coupled with all the power of the ships' thrusters, bore the two vessels to safety, clearing the black hole's gravitational pull in a roar of intensity of it cracked the cabin glass, ripping chunks of gummi blocks off the underside of the little craft.

They were thrust out into the blue of normal space again. Both ships slowed. Riku and Kairi released their death grips on the yoke as Sora slumped back in his seat. He tipped his head back, eyes closed. Beside him, Riku straightened, shoving silver bangs out of his face. Kairi curled forward, resting her forehead on Sora's shoulder.

"We made it," she breathed, hand to her heart. She stood on wobbly legs, clutching the seat's armrest for leverage.

Riku rose after her. "We did," he agreed. He looked unruffled, but the waver in his voice gave him away. He was pale as a ghost and hadn't moved a inch from Sora's side.

Sora opened his eyes, taking in the slew of alerts on the gummi ship's screen. "Uh, guys?" he said, drawing their attention. "Our ship's busted."

As he spoke, the other ship pulled up beside them. A woman in a smart blue uniform leaned over the side rail, white-gloved hand by her mouth to help project her voice. "Ahoy there!" she bellowed, words carrying through the crack in the cabin's glass. "Do you require assistance?" All three teens had the strange impression that she looked like a cat from this distance.

* * *

I hope you're all excited for where we're going next! :D

Thank you as always for your patience and loyalty. About a month ago we passed the year mark and I'm kind of in shock. So much has happened in my personal life and then just... like ALL of 2020. It's been a wild ride, but I appreciate all of you who have hung out with me through this fic. I probably did start posting too soon, but at the same time I'm glad I did. This has brought me so much joy and healing and purpose. So thank you for being a part of that! 333

I hope you all are well and safe! The chapter after this is written and I'm nearly done with the one following that, so expect something sooner rather than later. See you all then!


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